Who is Bhavna Tokekar? 50-year-old smashes four records in World Powerlifting Championship
Bhavna won the first prize in the Masters 3 category, age 50-54 in the under 75kg event, and also registered four world records to her name.
India’s Bhavna Tokekar on Friday secured the top spot in her category in the ongoing World Powerlifting Championship in Manchester, England. Bhavna won the first prize in the Masters 3 category, age 50-54 in the under 75kg event, and also registered four world records to her name.
Bhavna lifted 102.5kg in her best squat attempt, breaking the previous world record of 90kg. She bench pressed 80kg, surpassing the previous record of 40kg by a huge margin. Bhavna then had a deadlift of 132.5kg, going past the previous record of 105kg. In total, Bhavna lifted 315kg, which is also a world record and sufficient enough to win her the top spot in the event.
Who is Bhavna Tokekar?
Bhavna is the wife of a serving Group Captain in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and mother of two children. Bhavna, who is primarily a homemaker, took up powerlifting a few years back after trying her hand at cycling and middle-distance running. Bhavna is said to have been inspired to try lifting weights by the bodybuilders of the Indian Air Force.
Bhavna initially started learning more about the sport on the internet before starting to train under the watchful eyes of bodybuilders at the IAF. According to The Bridge, she got in touch with the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh state head Mohammed Azmat and asked him if she could be part of the Indian Powerlifting Team.
Azmat agreed to give Bhavna trials for the same, which eventually earned her a place in the Masters 2 category (45-50 age group) team in May 2019. Bhavna bagged four gold medals for India at the Open Asian Powerlifting Championships the same year.
