Parmjeet Kumar and Shakina Khatun opened India's account by winning silver and bronze medals respectively at the Fazzah 12th Dubai Para Powerlifting World Cup on Thursday.
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Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Parmjeet finished second in the men's up to 49kg category with a lift of 165kg. He finished behind Paralympic champion Omar Qarada of Jordan who lifted 176kg.
"It was a good performance. I am happy with my lift of 165kg which I have targeted coming to the competition in Dubai. There's work needed to be done on my technique and to do even better at the Asian Para Games."
Parmjeet said
At the same time, Shakina won the bronze medal in the women's up to 50 kg weight category. She lifted a total of 90 kg. She finished behind Brazil's Maria Rizonaide da Silva (95kg) and Italy's Emanuela Ita Romano (92kg). Meanwhile, Head coach J.P. Singh is also happy with Kumar's performance and felt that Khatun could lift more than 92 kg.
"It was a good opening day for India. I am happy for Parmjeet and Shakina but we have to work more on technical aspects. We will be ready for gold medals at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games." said the coach who has been with the national team for a long time now.
Around 200 powerlifters from 40 countries are competing in the final Dubai Para Powerlifting World Cup of the season over a four-day competition. Moreover, the event, which runs until Sunday (18 December), provides vital world ranking points in the qualification pathway for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.