Soni Kumari of Bihar in action at JRD Tata Sports Complex on Thursday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Hosts Jharkhand bagged two medals on the opening day of the 4th Federation Cup Powerlifting Championship at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur on Thursday.

Binay Banerjee started the day on a positive note for Jharkhand by winning the men’s 53kg category gold with a total lift of 342.5kg. He edged out Jammu and Kashmir’s Sahil Chib who managed 290kg and settled for silver.

Later, Prabir Chatterjee bagged the bronze for the home side in the men’s 66kg category by lifting 562.5kg. Odisha’s Pradeep Kumar Patra won the gold with a total lift of 622.5kg, while Sameer Khan of Rajasthan finished second with 577.5kg.

In the men’s 59kg event, V. Malleswar Rao of Andhra Pradesh stayed on top with a total lift of 545kg, whereas Maharashtra’s Manoj Mhalaskar took the silver with 497.5kg. Hargovind Singh of UP had to remain satisfied with a bronze medal for his 415kg lift.

The 4th National Deadlift Championship is also being organised along with the Federation Cup. However, the deadlift events will be conducted after the Cup.

The championship was inaugurated by Captain Amitabh, head of Tata Steel’s sports department, in the presence of Swami Angeyanandaji Maharaj of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Society, Indian Powerlifting Federation vice-president Satish Kumar, its general secretary Bhaskar Mitra, its treasurer Bijan Bhattacharjee and Asian Powerlifting Federation secretary Subrata Dutta.

A cultural programme followed the inauguration. Over 500 participants from 24 states are taking part at the national meet, which is being organised by the Indian Powerlifting Federation. The meet will conclude on April 14.