Binod Kumar Patra at JRD Tata Sports Complex in Jamshedpur. (Bhola Prasad)

Hauling weights comes easier to Binod Kumar Patra than drawing sponsors.

The diminutive lifter — a 14-time winner of the national benchpress championship — from Kokar in Ranchi is keeping his fingers crossed with the hope of donning India colours in two major powerlifting events abroad despite being denied participation in international events for seven years for want of sponsors.

The 41-year-old, who claimed two gold medals for Jharkhand in the ongoing Unequipped National Powerlifting and Benchpress Championship in Jamshedpur, has bright prospects of earning a berth in the Indian team for the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship in England (December 15-18) and the Unequipped Asian Powerlifting Championship (venue and date undecided).

“I’m not sure whether I will be able to compete in these championships as I don’t have a sponsor. In fact, this trend is continuing for seven years though I had been selected to represent the country in events abroad,” Patra said.

Speaking to The Telegraph on the sidelines of the powerlifting meet here, he said, “Despite proving my mettle in international and national events, I remain a pariah in my own state. I had sought support from the government but every time I met with disappointment.”

The income tax (I-T) department had been sponsoring Patra’s international trips but that too stopped in 2004. “Securing sponsorship from my employers is a very lengthy process. The file goes from Ranchi to Patna and then to Delhi. It consumes a lot of time,” Patra said, adding that uncertainty over sponsorship also affected his training schedule.

“But I am thankful to my employers for supporting me in the past,” Patra, the son of a long-distance runner, added.

The ace lifter, who works as office superintendent of the I-T department in Daltonganj, has pocketed three international medals — golds in Asian Powerlifting Championships in Jamshedpur (2002) and New Delhi (2004). He also bagged silver in the Asian Powerlifting Meet held in Manila in 2000.

The ageing lifter missed the bronze at the World Benchpress Championships by a whisker twice — in Hamburg (1998) and Christchurch (2002). “My opponents lifted merely 2.5kg more than me,” he recalled.

Patra, who idolises former Ranchi powerlifter Inderjit Singh, follows a strict fitness regime. “I give two hours to my body. I also pay special attention to my diet. Non-vegetarian food is a must for any lifter. I take 12 eggs five days a week. Mutton, chicken and fish also figure in my diet chart,” he said.

Do you think the state government is ignoring athletes?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com