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Harjinder Kaur is an Indian weightlifter who participates in the 71 kg women’s category. On 1 August 2022, she won a bronze medal in the women’s 71 kg category at the Commonwealth Games (2022) held in Birmingham, England.
Wiki/Biography
Harjinder Kaur was born on Monday, 14 October 1996 (age 26 years; as of 2022) in Mehas Village near Patiala, Punjab. Her zodiac sign is Libra. She completed her school education at Nabha’s Government Girls School, Punjab. Later, she attended SGTB Khalsa College, Anandpur Sahib, Punjab. Harjinder Kaur was interested in outdoor sports since childhood. Initially, Harjinder Kaur used to play Kabaddi. Soon after completing her schooling, Harjinder joined college, where coach Surinder Singh, assigned her to the College Kabaddi Squad. Later, when she joined the sports wing at Punjabi University, Patiala, Paramjeet Sharma, a weightlifting champion of the 1990 Commonwealth Games, noticed her skills and encouraged her to participate in tug-of-war competitions. With her prowess in tug-of-war, Harjinder decided to participate in weightlifting competitions.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Weight: 71 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Harjinder Kaur belongs to a middle-class Punjabi family.
Parents & Siblings
Harjinder Kaur’s father, Sahib Singh, is a farmer. Her mother’s name is Kuldeep Kaur. Harjinder Kaur’s elder brother, Pritpal Singh, is a clerk.
Harjinder Kaur with her mother
Career
Harjinder Kaur began professional training in weightlifting in 2016 under the guidance of her coach, Paramjeet Sharma. In 2017, she participated in a state-level weightlifting championship and won it. In 2020, she participated in the 3rd Women Inter-State Senior National Weightlifting Competition and bagged a gold medal. The same year, she participated in 35th Women Senior National Weightlifting Championship. She won a silver medal in the competition. In 2021, she was introduced to the National Camp, Patiala. Subsequently, in 2022, she participated in the Senior Nationals Competitions in Orissa with a total lift of 208kg and won a gold medal in the weightlifting competition.
Harjinder Kaur (middle) at Senior Nationals Competitions, Orissa
On 1 August 2022, she participated in the Commonwealth Games under the 71 kg category. She won a bronze medal in the competition. In an interview, she expressed her gratitude for winning a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games and said,
When I started off in 2016, I did not get any financial support from my family, but I have been morally supported by my family. My coach, Paramjeet Sharma, helped me out a lot in those days and he had the faith that I would be bringing a medal today, and his faith, I think, won me my medal.”
Harjinder Kaur (right) at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
Medals
Gold
- 2017: 3rd Women Inter-State National Weighlifting Championship (Kolkata)
- 2022: Senior Nationals Championship (Orissa) in the women’s 71 kg category
Silver
- 2017: 35th Women Senior National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata)
In 2017, Harjinder Kaur bagged a gold medal at the 3rd Women Inter-State National Weighlifting Championship (Kolkata) and a silver medal at 35th Women Senior National Weightlifting Championship (Kolkata)
Bronze
- 2022: Commonwealth Games (Birmingham) in women’s 71 kg category
Harjinder Kaur bagged a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games (2022)
Facts/Trivia
- In an interview, Harjinder Kaur said that her muscular arms were developed by operating Toka Machine, a chaff cutter in her village.
- In a conversation with a media house, Harjinder shared that she belonged to an impoverished family. Her family resided in a one-room house, owned six buffaloes, and his father worked on contracted farmland. While talking about her family’s financial condition, she said,
My father would give me Rs 350 for the return fare from Nabha to the college hostel in Sri Anandpur Sahib and another Rs 350 as pocket money. I felt ashamed to ask for more money.”
- Harjinder Kaur, initially, was not interested in weightlifting. In an interview, Harjinder’s coach Paramjeet Sharma talked about this and said,
I was surprised at how much power she had as a teenager when we put her into the tug of war teams. She undertook some national tours. It took some time to convince her to shift to weightlifting. There were times when she would return to her village and did not show too much of interest in weightlifting. But she would always return. Today I can say it was the right decision to make her a weightlifter.”
- According to Harjinder Kaur, the Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is her favourite Indian weightlifter. Harjinder, during an interview, addressed Mirabai Chanu as Mirabai Didi and shared that she wanted to take a selfie with Mirabai after winning the Commonwealth (2022) games medal.
- In an interview, she talked about Commonwealth Games and said that she was not happy with her performance. She quoted,
I am happy with the medal, but I was not happy with my performance. I have lifted more weight and the plan was to match that, but I have managed a medal, so, it’s okay I guess. The plan that I came in with, but it did not work out. If I would have put my best foot forward, I could have been in contention for the silver medal.”
- On 2 August 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harjinder Kaur through a tweet for bagging a bronze medal at Commonwealth Games (2022)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Harjinder Kaur on winning a gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games