Khelo India Youth Games 2023: Beaten by father's demise tragically, young Grishma Thorat is ready to fly again after weightlifting Silver

Alex is web content writer who is covering various sports, technology in sports and igaming space from 2017.

Published at :January 30, 2024 at 10:44 PM

Modified at :January 30, 2024 at 10:44 PM

(Courtesy : Artsmith)

Thorat won silver in 76kg category

Thane weightlifter Grishma Thorat, who picked a silver in the women’s 76kg category at the Khelo India Youth Games 2023, has finally made peace with herself after a tragic personal loss left her devastated and shook her deep inside.

For the past two years, Grishma’s life revolved around the memories of her late father, who lost his battle to post-Covid infections, a mere four days after she returned from Bhubaneswar with a sixth-place finish at the junior nationals in 2022.

“A couple of days after I returned from Bhubaneswar, my father had to be admitted to the hospital due to Covid-related complications. We weren’t ready for the worst situation and thought he would recover. However, fate had something else written for us,” said an emotional Grishma, a 10th standard student in a local school.

“It (the last two years) has been the toughest phase of my career so far. Every time, I go for training or start doing anything the memories of my father keep flashing in front of me. I was mentally shattered, deep inside there’s a void that’s hard to fill. I couldn’t focus on anything,” she said.

“My father worked in a chocolate factory, and he was the sole bread earner in the family. It has been tough (financially) but my mother has somehow managed to manage the family with her limited income,” she added.

Her mother has taken up the job of a caretaker in an Anganwadi center in Thane and has to fund the education of Grishma and her twin sister.

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Before this edition of the Khelo India Youth Games, Grishma had finished sixth and fourth in Panchkula and Indore and struggled to motivate herself. But she managed to turn things around and won the bronze medal at the junior nationals earlier this month in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.

“My coach Madhuri Sinhasane has been instrumental in helping me come out of the distressed phase, and I’m grateful to her for being with me throughout this challenging period,” she said.

Motivated by the back-to-back podium finishes this month, Grishma is now eying a top podium finish at the upcoming Under-17 School Games in Patna, in March.

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Alex

Alex is graduate in the mass communication in 2016 since then he is covering global sports for Khel Now. He is covering sports tech, igaming, sports betting and casino domain from 2017.