Paanwala's son living his father's dream of becoming a weightlifter; the story of Sanket Mahadev Sargar

The first medal winner for India at the Birmingham Commonwealth games 2022, Sanket Mahadev Sargar didn’t get everything on the platter.

He finished second in the men's 55kg weightlifting event lifting a combined weight of 248kg (113 in Snatch and 135kg in C&J) bagging a silver medal for India.

In the process of lifting at the 2022 Commonwealth games, Sanket injured himself but his journey also had its struggles.

Sanket hails from the small city of Sangli in Maharashtra, a weightlifting belt. It was not Sanket, his father wanted him to get into sports and become a sportsperson.

To earn a living his father, Mahadev Sargar came to Sangli from the countryside in the early 1990s. He first sold fruit off a cart before eventually saving up the money to open a paan shop – Sanket Paan and then a tea and breakfast stall next to it.

Sanket spent his childhood helping his father juggle between the two shops. But when he was 12, his father took him to Digvijay Vyayamshala. The Vyamshala was near to the shop and had a weightlifting gym with a well-known coach.

During that time, Sanket had no idea whether he’ll become a weightlifter one day. He was doing what his father wanted him to do.

With constant training and hard work, Sanket got better and started enjoying lifting.

He won the first medal for weightlifting when he was in class 9 for a divisional competition. That time Sanket realized with consistency and efforts he can win many more medals.

Sanket’s father has been his biggest support system. Irrespective of the tough times he has seen, he always pushed him towards sports as he wanted his son to have a good life. With less money, he arranged whatever he could at the best of his possibility.

Though Sanket was training hard, he was also responsible for managing the shops. But he did it all together.

In 2019, it was the first time when Sanket decided he too would make it to the Commonwealth Games. He started by making a mark at the national level and competed in the 49kg category. But after he moved up to the 55kg weight division, results were seen.

In 2020, Sanket won his first gold medal at the senior nationals in Kolkata. A year later, he would win his second national title.

Sanket also holds a national record for Men's 55 kg weightlifting which he broke at Commonwealth Championship held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in 2021.