His older brother Alok stated, “Despite our circumstances, tried everything to assist Achinta thrive as a weightlifter.”
Achinta Sheuli, 20, has a number of medals hanging on a wall inside his one-story, tile-roofed home in Deulpur, Howrah district, that he won on the way to Sunday’s Commonwealth Games victory. Even with great poverty, Achinta’s family was unable to afford two square meals every day, let alone a showcase to keep the medals clean.
After the death of her husband in 2013, his mother Purnima Sheuli (43), who now works as an embroiderer, claims that she was in such financial difficulty that she could not even buy a chicken supper for Achintya.
He had requested a chicken supper when he was a little child. But we were unable to pay for it. He shed many tears that day. He eventually realised our limited budget, though, and never requested a similar dinner again. He lived primarily on starchy rice and coconuts. He demanded that I prepare his favourite starchy rice when he gets home after winning the gold medal yesterday. Purnima, who supported her family with a weekly salary of Rs 700,his family told.
Achintya started working with local weightlifting coach Ashtam Das in 2010. After placing fourth in the youth division of the 2014 National Championship, he got a break. A coach with the Army Sports Institute noticed him and offered the young man a spot at their headquarters in Pune.
Achinta developed physically and became well-known in the sport as a result of eating three square meals every day.