Commonwealth Games Silver Medal Winner Gururaja to get Govt. Job and Rs 25 Lakh Cash Award

Commonwealth Games Silver Medal Winner Gururaja to get Govt. Job and Rs 25 Lakh Cash Award – Pramod Madhwaraj

Udupi: India opened its account at the Commonwealth Games 2018 after P Gururaja, a weightlifter from Karnataka won the silver medal in the men’s 56 kg final with a total lift of 249 kg.

Gururaja lifted 111 kg in snatch and 138 kg in clean and jerk weightlifting to power his way to the silver medal at the Gold Coast in Brisbane, Australia.

Expressing happiness through his twitter account the state sports and youth service minister Pramod Madhwaraj said, “As sports minister and Udupi district minister I feel very proud of Gururaja Poojary’s great achievement. Recently I myself had handed over the Karnataka Ekalavya award to him. Congratulations Gururaj on making India proud”.

Madhwaraj also hinted that Gururaja is likely to get a government job in the capacity of a group B officer. He will also get Rs 25 lakhs as cash award. As per the sports policy released in Karnataka, Gururaja will get the government Job, he said.

Weightlifter Gururaja Poojary from Kundapur in Udupi district in his first two attempts failed to lift the weight of 138 kg but managed to lift it in his final attempt to secure the medal. Gururaja, who is the son of a truck driver, is employed with the Indian Air Force. He had recently received the Eklavya award from the Karnataka state government.

Gururaja’s father, Mahabala Poojary, is a goods-truck driver, who struggled to make ends meet to take care of his six sons. Expressing his joy after his son’s success in Australia he said, “Poverty is something we have lived all our life. If we were a little bit well-off financially or received the necessary support and encouragement, maybe all of my sons could have made our country proud”.