Facing penury, power lifting champ looks for job to support family

Ludhiana: With the Covid-19 pandemic unravelling the economy, struggle for survival has taken precedence over chasing dreams. A case in point is that of national power lifter Ishwarjot Singh (24), who was forced to give up his dream of running a sports academy for local players in Jagraon village and look for a job to make ends meet.

Ishwarjot, a four-time national champion from a family with limited means, could not make any money from his sports academy after the strict lockdown was imposed to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. When the government ordered closing down of all sports institutions, he was forced to shut down his academy.

Unable to run the household, the family has been urging the state government to give Ishwarjot a government job in the sports quota as he has won the maximum number of gold medals in back-to-back national power lifting championships.

Ishwarjot shot to the limelight after his selection in the Asian power lifting men's championship in 2019, where he won the gold medal in North India national power lifting.

“My father is a small shopkeeper who couldn’t bear the expense of my training as he earned Rs 500 to Rs 600 after working hard all day. The money was fully utilised in managing household expenses. I wanted to do the country proud on foreign soil but for the past five months, I am sitting at home looking for a job as a gym trainer to support my family,” said Ishwarjot.

With his savings all consumed in running the household, the family is going through a tough time.

“Not even in my nightmares did I imagine that I would have to face difficulties in earning a livelihood as I have won eight to nine national-level championships in the past few years. Due to lackadaisical efforts of the state government towards the welfare of sportspersons, I had to give up sports,” he rued.