I have been with the core group of weightlifters since 2009. We have undergone a long and intense training in this span as we travelled across four centres for training.
We started from Patiala, went to Bangalore then to Pune and Shilaroo and came back to Patiala. We had the services of a foreign coach in Pune. We traversed the country to get better weather conditions while training. So of course, we have high hopes of doing well at the Commonwealth Games.
We have some of the best lifters and especially among the Commonwealth nations, our lifters are ranked pretty high. More importantly, many of us are peaking at the right time. So that is an added advantage.
Though the preparations have been good, the last one year has brought us a lot of shame. Many of our colleagues have failed dope tests. Our participation too was in jeopardy. But we were focused because our federation heads and coach assured us that we will participate in the Delhi Games.
Surely, we are being looked down upon and with suspicion every time, but that doesn’t deter us from our ultimate goal. It’s like when you walk on the road, many people, most of them strangers, stare at you. One really doesn’t know why they look at you like that. But it doesn’t mean you stop walking on the road.
Similarly, we too have put in our best and want to put the worst days behind. We have not lost our focus and have tried our best to concentrate on the job at hand. All of us have been looking forward to competing at the Games for a long time and have been preparing for many years just for this event.
The Delhi Games are a chance for us to redeem our pride and prove that we can win without doping. We are clean.
Geeta Rani is a part of current weightlifting squad in the 75+
category and had won the Gold in the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. She spoke to Gautam Sheth
