Gururaja Poojary is a famous Indian weightlifter. In 2018, he made headlines when he won the silver medal in the men’s 56 kg weight category at the Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia. In 2022, he came into the limelight after winning a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England.
Gururaja Poojary after winning the Bronze medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Wiki/Biography
Gururaja Poojary was born on Saturday, 15 August 1992 (age 30; in 2022) in Vandse, Karnataka, India. His zodiac sign is Leo. He completed his primary education at Government Higher Primary School at Vandse in Kundapur Taluk and secondary school education at Mookambika High School, Kollur. During his school days, he was skinny and short but he always fought his school bullies without fear. This spirit of Poojary persuaded his physical education teacher, Sukesh Shetty, to influence Poojary to wrestle. Soon, he started practicing wrestling on mud and clay because his parents could not afford to buy him a mat. He trained in the culture of ‘gatta gusti’ in the districts of South Canara and Kollur in Karnataka and North Malabar in Kerala. Later, he joined Sri Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College, Ujire to pursue his degree. In college, he began looking for a wrestling coach for professional wrestling training. Meanwhile, he joined a gym after college where he befriended some famous weightlifters. Soon, he began to meet this weightlifter often. In 2010, he started training in weightlifting under the guidance of Rajendra Prasad. Later, he represented his college in a weightlifting tournament. In a media conversation, Gururaja Poojary stated that he had switched his interest from wrestling to powerlifting during his college days. He said,
I started going to the gym and there I met some powerlifters. I soon began to associate with them and began to increase my power.”
For P Gururaja, who started out as a wrestler before switching to powerlifting and then weightlifting, it’s been a steady ascent rather than a spectacular one.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 1″
Weight (approx): 56 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Mahabala Poojari, and he works as a truck driver. His mother’s name is Paddu Poojari, and she is a housewife. He has five brothers named Rajesh Poojary, Manohar Poojary, Mohan Poojary, Ravirajand Poojary, and Uday Poojary. All his brothers are Kabaddi players.
Rajesh, Manohar, Mahabala (Gururaja’s father), Padhu Poojarthi (his mother), Mohan, Raviraj, and Uday Poojary
Wife
He is not married.
Career
Indian Air Force
In 2015, Gururaja Poojary started working in the Indian Air Force as an airman. In a media conversation, he shared that he wanted to join the Indian Army but the height issue prompted him to join the Indian Air Force.
Weight lifting
In 2015, Gururaja Poojary participated in the National Weightlifting championship organized in Jalandhar and won silver medal and All India University title. He then competed in the Senior Level Weightlifting Championship held at Jaipur (Rajasthan) in the 56 kg Weight Category and won a silver medal in 2015. In the same year, he participated in the Senior Level Weightlifting Championship held at Patiala (Punjab) and won a medal silver. bronze medal in the 56 kg Body Weight Category. He started participating in the national senior championships in 2016 and won the gold medal in the national weightlifting event organized in Tamil Nadu. He then participated in the Commonwealth senior weightlifting championships and bagged the gold medal by lifting a personal best of 249 kg (108+141) in Penang, Malaysia in 2016. In the same year, he participated in the South Asian Games held in Guwahati and won the gold medal. in the 56kg category.
Gururaj Poojary after winning the gold medal in 2016
In 2017, he participated in the Commonwealth Games held in Australia and won the bronze medal. In 2018, he participated in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia and won a silver medal in the men’s 56 kg weight category.
Gururaja Poojary after winning the silver medal in 2018
medal
Commonwealth Games
- Silver medal in 2018 at Gold Coast in the 56 kg category
- Bronze medal in 2022 in Birmingham in the 61 kg category
Commonwealth Games
- Gold medal in 2016 in Penang in the 56 kg category
- Silver medal in 2021 in Tashkent in the 61 kg category
- Bronze medal in 2017 at Gold Coast in the 56 kg category
Facts/Trivia
- According to Gururaja Poojary, he was inspired by Indian wrestler Shushil Kumar to take up wrestling in 2008 after Sushil won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.
- His coach Rajendra Prasad revealed in a media interview that in 1999, Gururaja Poojary set a record for himself by lifting 193 kg (total in squat and knee jerk) and broke his own record in 2012. He went on to say that Gururaja Poojary improved the sport of lifting the weight power to 125kgs in 2015.
- Shortly after winning the gold medal in the Commonwealth senior weightlifting championships in 2016, he recounted in a media interview that his family’s standard of living improved after he won the gold medal. He said,
When I started weightlifting in 2010, things were tough at home. I need money for diet and supplements, but my father cannot support me. We are a family of eight. Things are getting better now.”
- After winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games in 2018, he was honored with ‘Ekalavya,’ the highest sports award by the Government of Karnataka.
- In a media conversation, Poojary revealed that he was a punctual student during his college days and used to attend regular classes. He added that while he was pursuing his studies, he was inspired by Indian weightlifter Vikar Thakur, who won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games for the country. He continued by saying that at that time he was aiming to win a medal for India. He said,
Then Vikas Thakur won a medal at the last Commonwealth Games and I got inspired. In fact I want to win a medal.”
Gururaj Poojary was honored by Karnataka government officials
- The childhood of Gururaja Poojary and his five brothers was spent in poverty. In a media conversation, his mother stated that her family’s financial situation improved only when her son started winning medals for the country. He added that it was only because of his children’s hard work. He said,
Poverty is something we have been through all our lives. If we are relatively rich financially or receive the necessary support and encouragement, maybe all my sons can make our country proud.”
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
