This woman becomes first power-lifter from Kashmir, wins gold medal

A woman from Jammu & Kashmir has become the first female power-lifter in her state after she decided to choose the sport as her career. Saima Ubaid recently begged gold medal in the sport after the Jammu & Kashmir Powerlifting Association organised the first-ever powerlifting competition for women. Saima lifted 255 kilograms last year in December to win the gold medal in powerlifting. 

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'Want to inspire other women' 

Saima, while speaking to news agency ANI, said she wanted to set an example for all women who cut their own wings under societal pressure. Saima is married and is a mother of one with a Bachelors in Home Science from Government College for Women, Srinagar. Saima said her husband is the one who guided her to the path of powerlifting by encouraging her to lift heavy weights as he discovered she was natural with weight lifting. 

"Even after marriage and a kid, I continued the sport as I wanted to show women that they can achieve whatever they dream for. No societal pressure will stop you from achieving your dreams if you are dedicated," Saima said.

"I saw she had natural strength to lift weights that is essential for powerlifting. Then I proposed the idea of the sport and she agreed. We then started preparing for the competition and by God's grace she achieved a great milestone," she added.

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Saima's husband, who is himself a powerlifter, said he discovered his wife was natural with weights so he encouraged her to pursue powerlifting as a career. Saima's husband Ubaid trained her for the competition, where she managed to win a gold medal. Saima now plans to start her own coaching centre for women and also prepare for her own powerlifting career side-by-side. 

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Earlier last month, a 21-year-old girl from Jammu & Kashmir was garnering all the attention for deciding to drive an autorickshaw in order to help her family make extra money amid the COVID-19-induced financial hardships. The girl named Banjeet Kaur from the Udhampur district of Jammu & Kashmir took up the job to help her family while studying for her Bachelors's degree simultaneously. "My father was a school bus driver but he lost his job as the schools remain closed due to COVID-19. He started driving auto-rickshaw but he was not able to earn sufficient. So I stepped-in," Banjeet told ANI.

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(Image Credit: ANI)