Asia-Oceania Para Powerlifting C’ships: Basha wins 2 Silver medals on Day 2

Veteran powerlifter Farman Basha returned to medal winning ways claiming two silver medals at the ongoing Asia-Oceania World Para Powerlifting Open Championships in Pyeongtaek, South Korea on Thursday.

Basha, who has been recovering from an injury in the last two years, cleared the bar in all three rounds starting with 130kg, 132kg and 135kg for a total of 397kg, enough to take the silver in men’s upto 54kg total score event.

He finished behind South Korea’s Keun Jin Choi who clinched the gold with a total of 465kg while Kyrgyzstan’s Azizbek Zamirbek Uluu took the bronze with a total of 362kg. This was Choi’s first major medal since the 2006 Asian Para Games.

“It’s nice to win medals after a long time but I hope that our efforts are being recognised. My next target is the Asian Para Games following which I am planning retirement,” Basha told the Paralympic Committee of India.

Basha is a former three-time Asian Para Games and is currently the coach of Paralympian Sakina Khatun, the bronze medallist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, at the SAI Centre Bengaluru.

On Friday, Bhawana Sharma will be in action in women’s over 86kg, while Ashok and Ramubhai Babubhai Bambhava will compete in men’s upto 65 and 72kg events.

On the opening day, Parmjeet Kumar and Manpreet Kaur claimed two bronze medals to open India’s medal account at the Regional Championships.