Odisha’s Golden Girl Preetismita Bhoi Lifts India’s Pride at Asian Youth Games

A 16-year-old weight lifter, Preetismita Bhoi of Odisha, made an impressive record after she won gold in the girls' 44 kg weight category at the 3rd Asian Youth Games 2025 in Bahrain. She has lifted 158 kg, of which 92 kg in the clean and jerk event, a record to qualify her as an Asian and world youth record holder. Her performance was exceptional, and it has made India proud and Odisha more prominent in terms of developing young talent in sports. The success of Preetismita is seen as an epitome of hard work, training, and excellence, which will influence the new generation of players to aim for international success.

Early life, background, and Career

• Preetismita Bhoi was born in Dhenkanal, Odisha, and started her preparation with the coach Gopal Das at the Odisha weightlifting high-performance centre.

• In the first instance, she won a gold medal in the IWF Youth World Weightlifting Championships 2024 in the 40 kg category, breaking a youth world record.

• She won gold in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in 2025 in Ahmedabad.

• She was also the gold medalist in the 3rd Asian Youth Games 2025 in Bahrain, where she broke the world record among young people.

Key Highlights about the Asian Youth Games 2025

• Asian Youth Games were scheduled to take place in Manama, Bahrain, between 22 and 31 October 2025.

• There were 45 participating countries with competitions in 26 sports and 263 events.

• India had a good representation of 222 competitors who were participating in 21 sports.

• Preetismita Bhoi was the gold medalist in the 44 kg weightlifting event, setting the youth world record.

Conclusion

The history of India and Odisha is set to be proud now that Preetismita Bhoi has scooped the 2025 Asian Youth Games with a record score. Her hard work, discipline, and perseverance have made her one of the best young sportsmen in the nation. Not only is this a demonstration of her talent, Odisha’s Golden Girl Preetismita Bhoi Lifts India’s Pride at Asian Youth Games, but this is also representative of how India has become very strong in weightlifting as well as how it has invested in ensuring that it raises the youth to excellence.