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Ludhiana Weightlifting Club, a sporting hub crumbles under weight of maintenance costs
Ludhiana Weightlifting Club, where around 25 powerlifters train, requires regular maintenance of the floor as it bears the brunt of heavyweights dropped every day
The Ludhiana Weightlifting Club, which has churned out one international-level athlete after the other in its 60-year past, finds itself reeling under the weight of growing costs of maintenance.
The club, run by the Ludhiana district Weightlifting and Body Building Association, depends on the paltry ₹83 fee it collects from over 200 athletes who are registered with it at the moment. All the equipment, maintenance and security have to be arranged for using that sum.
“Nobody helps us with the necessities, we are on our own devices,” complains the general secretary of the Association, Parvesh Chander Sharma.
“We have produced hundreds of athletes for the state and a few of our trained athletes like Vikas Thakur and Sushil Kumar have even represented the country on the international level, but it is only once in a while when someone bothers to help us,” said Sharma, who is a Commonwealth gold medallist.
The club, where around 25 powerlifters train, requires regular maintenance of the floor as it bears the brunt of heavyweights dropped every day. The wooden floor is rotten and the club has to make do with rubber mats, Sharma said.
The association in 2021 purchased gym equipment worth ₹3 lakh, but they do not have enough money to arrange for repairs, which, Sharma says are required regularly.
“When someone from our club wins at the big level, everyone praises us, but when we need help, we don’t often find anyone to turn to. Appreciation for us is just limited to the applause at the competitions,” Sharma said
Varun Sharma, who is a professional bodybuilder, has been a regular at the club for the last six years. He says the equipment becomes dated very soon and every now and then, forcing them to compromise on training.
An inter-university powerlifter, Prabhdeep Singh, decries the lack of support from the government. “Our club has provided four international-level lifters, many of the athletes who grew out of here are today working with many departments, but still we don’t get the support we need to keep producing athletes of the same calibre,” he laments.
