Gnana Divya eyes Commonwealth games next

Visakhapatnam: Gnana Divya Nagam terms 2022 as an eventful year. And she has many reasons to say so.

The powerlifting champion has won 11 gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals in state, national and international events in a row. The recent one added to the list includes two bronze medals at the World Powerlifting Championship that concluded early this month in Istanbul in squat and deadlift categories.

Born in Katevaram village in Guntur district, Gnana Divya is studying Intermediate second year in Tenali. Having come from a modest background, the 17-year-old champion says that she is thankful to her teacher-cum-coach K Naga Sirisha for spotting her talent and coaxing her to get into powerlifting when she was getting trained at Matrusri Academy in Tenali mandal, for weightlifting. Working as a collection boy with a cable operator in Katevaram, her father Nagam Venkateswara Rao and mother Sudha Rani, a homemaker, extend support to the powerlifting champion in her endeavours.

Determined to make a mark in the game, Gnana Divya says that she could achieve 11 gold medals in various events within a span of less than a year. Next, she has set her eyes on the Commonwealth Games. "I want to win gold in the international multisport event," says Gnana Divya when she came to Visakhapatnam.

She says that she is grateful to Krishna Mohan Gadiparthi and Narendra Reddy Nerla of Inspiredge IT Solutions Visakhapatnam, for extending financial support to realise her goal.