I am confident of competing with world’s best weightlifters: Achinta Sheuli

Commonwealth Games gold medalwinning weightlifter has been attending endless felicitations since he arrived home from Birmingham. Despite the busy schedule, the 20-year-old took time out to chat with TOI, share his experiences and expectations from the future. Excerpts. How was the feeling returning home after almost three years?It was a great feeling, particularly as I was coming home with the reward that had kept me away from home for these three years. It felt nostalgic coming back to my village (Deulpur) and meet all my friends. So many people had turned up at the airport to receive me. Even in the village, the celebrations continued for days. How busy have you been after returning from Birmingham? Extremely busy. I wake up at 7 in the morning, and have to visit so many places. I manage to return home by 11 pm. Of course, I haven’t found time to train. I guess I can start training only after I go back to Patiala. Aren’t you tired of felicitations? Not yet. They do keep me busy, but never have I felt that that it is enough.

Achinta Sheuli (Reuters Photo)Looking ahead, what are your plans for the Paris Olympics? I haven’t really started planning for Paris yet. It will start only after I return to Patiala. I will be able to plan only after I sit down with the coach. At the CWG, you lifted 313 kgs (overall), but if we take the Tokyo Olympics as the benchmark, the bronze went to a lift of 342 kgs. Do you think you can bridge this gap? My best is 320 kgs and I think I am capable of doing more than that. In fact, I am quite confident of doing much better than that. With good training and if everything goes well, I will manage to bridge this gap. My coach will finalise my training schedule and he will do it keeping