Harjinder Kaur is an Indian weightlifter who competes in the women’s 71 kg category. On 1 August 2022, she won a bronze medal in the women’s 71 kg category at the Commonwealth Games (2022) held in Birmingham, England.
Wiki/Biography
Harjinder Kaur was born on Monday, 14 October 1996 (age 26; in 2022) in Mehas Village near Patiala, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Libra. She completed her school education at Nabha’s Government Girls School, Punjab. Later, he attended SGTB Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. Harjinder Kaur has been interested in outdoor sports since childhood. In the beginning, Harjinder Kaur used to play as Kabaddi. Soon after completing his schooling, Harjinder joined college, where coach Surinder Singh, assigned him to the College Kabaddi Squad. Later, when he joined the sports wing at Punjabi University, Patiala, Paramjeet Sharma, the 1990 Commonwealth Games weightlifting champion, noticed his skills and encouraged him to participate in tug-of-war competitions. With his prowess in the sport of tug-of-war, Harjinder decided to participate in a weightlifting competition.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 5″
Weight: 71 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Harjinder Kaur belongs to a middle class Punjabi family.
Parents & Siblings
Harjinder Kaur’s father, Sahib Singh, was a farmer. His mother’s name is Kuldeep Kaur. Harjinder Kaur’s brother, Pritpal Singh, is a clerk.
Harjinder Kaur with her mother
Career
Harjinder Kaur began training professionally in weightlifting in 2016 under the guidance of her coach, Paramjeet Sharma. In 2017, he participated in the state weightlifting championship and won it. In 2020, she participated in the 3rd Women’s Interstate Senior National Weightlifting Competition and bagged the gold medal. In the same year, she participated in the 35th Women’s Senior National Weightlifting Championships. He won the silver medal in the competition. In 2021, he was introduced to the National Camp, Patiala. After that, in 2022, he participated in the Senior Citizen Competition in Orissa with a total lift of 208kg and won the gold medal in the weightlifting competition.
Harjinder Kaur (centre) at the Senior Citizens Competition, Orissa
On 1 August 2022, he participated in the Commonwealth Games under the 71 kg category. He won the bronze medal in the competition. In an interview, he expressed his gratitude for winning the bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games and said,
When I started in 2016, I didn’t have any financial support from my family, but I was supported morally by my family. My coach, Paramjeet Sharma, helped me a lot at that time and he had faith that I would bring the medal today, and his faith, I think, won me the medal.”
Harjinder Kaur (right) at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
medal
gold
- 2017: 3rd Women’s Inter-State National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata)
- 2022: Senior National Championships (Orissa) in women’s 71 kg category
silver
- 2017: 35th Women’s Senior National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata)
In 2017, Harjinder Kaur bagged a gold medal at the 3rd Inter-State Women’s National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata) and a silver medal at the 35th Senior Women’s National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata)
Bronze
- 2022: Commonwealth Games (Birmingham) in the women’s 71 kg category
Harjinder Kaur bagged a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Harjinder Kaur said that her muscular arms were developed by operating Mesin Toka, a chaff cutter in her village.
- In a conversation with a media house, Harjinder shared that he belongs to a poor family. His family lived in a one-room house, owned six buffaloes, and his father worked on contract farmland. While talking about his family’s financial situation, he said,
My father would give me Rs 350 for the round trip fare from Nabha to the college hostel at Sri Anandpur Sahib and another Rs 350 as pocket money. I feel ashamed to ask for more money.”
- Harjinder Kaur, initially, was not interested in weightlifting. In an interview, coach Harjinder Paramjeet Sharma spoke about this and said,
I was surprised at how much power he had as a teenager when we put him on the tug of war team. He did several national tours. It took some time to convince him to switch to weightlifting. There were times when he would go back to his village and not be very interested in weightlifting. But he will always come back. Today I can say it was the right decision to make him a weightlifter.”
- According to Harjinder Kaur, Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is her favorite Indian weightlifter. Harjinder, during an interview, called Mirabai Chanu as Mirabai Didi and shared that he wants to take a selfie with Mirabai after winning a Commonwealth games (2022) medal.
- In an interview, he talked about the Commonwealth Games and said that he was not satisfied with his performance. He quoted,
I’m happy with the medal, but I’m not happy with my performance. I’ve lifted more weight and the plan is to match it, but I’ve managed to get a medal, so, I guess it’s okay. I made a plan, but it didn’t work. If I will put my best foot forward, I will probably compete for the silver medal.”
- On 2 August 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harjinder Kaur through a tweet for winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games (2022).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates Harjinder Kaur for winning the gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
