Achinta Sheuli is an Indian weightlifter who is known for achieving the third gold medal for India at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the weightlifting 73 kg category. He made a record by lifting 313 kg in the event.

Wiki/Biography

Achinta Sheuli was born on Saturday, 24 November 2001 (age 20 years; as of 2020) in Deulpur, West Bengal. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. He attended the Deulpur High School (H.S), Deulpur, West Bengal and Army Sports Institute, Pune.

Physical Appearance

Height: 5′ 6″

Weight (approx.): 73 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 42″, Waist 32″, Biceps 15″

Family

Parents & Siblings

Achinta’s father’s name was Jagat Sheuli, who worked as a manual labourer. He died in 2013. His mother’s name is Purnima Sheuli, who worked as a embroider.

Achinta Sheuli as a child with his family

He has an elder brother, Alok Sheuli, who works as a contractual employee in the fire brigade.

Achinta Sheuli with his brother

Wife

Achinta is unmarried.

Career

Achinta started his weightlifting career in 2015 and won the silver medal at Commonwealth Youth Championship, held in Apia, Samoa. In 2018, he won a gold medal at the Khelo India Youth Games held in Delhi.

Achinta Sheuli with gold medal during the Khelo India Youth Games 2018

In 2019, he played in the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championships held in Apia, Samoa and won a gold. In the event, he made a national record by lifting 173 kg in the Clean & Jerk series and 143 in snatch combined to 316 kg.

Achinta Sheuli during the Commonwealth Senior and Junior Championships (2019)

In 2019, he won a gold medal at the South Asian Games held in Kathmandu.

Achinta Sheuli with gold medal at the South Asian Games

In 2019, he won a silver medal at the Asian Youth Championship held in Gifu, Japan. In 2021, he won a silver medal at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Achinta Sheuli during the Junior World Weightlifting Championship

In 2022, he participated in the Commonwealth Games and won a gold medal at the event held in Birmingham, England. In the event, he made a record by lifting 143 kg in snatch and 170 kg in the Clean & Jerk series, combining to 313 kg at the Commonwealth games.

Achinta Sheuli during the Commonwealth Games 2022

Facts/Trivia

He is known by the name Babu and Achi by his friends and family members.

He is coached by Astam Das (former national-level weightlifter) and Vijay Sharma.

He likes watching films and riding motorcycles.

According to his mother, he did not have much interest in his studies, but even after that, he used to score well in exams.

Achinta Sheuli as a child

He first got exposed to weightlifting when he was ten years old and saw his brother and his friends’ weightlifting in the gym.

His brother joined the gym near their house when he was twelve years old to fulfil his dream of becoming a weightlifter. Achinta followed his brother’s path, and he also joined the gym. The gym was a makeshift gym which did not have proper facilities.

Achinta Sheuli and his brother’s gym

In 2013, their father, who was the only bread earner of the family died after which the responsibility of the family came to Achinta’s brother. He had to give up college and weightlifting and work as a embroider along with his mother. He tried his best to provide all the facilities to Achinta. Sometimes, Achinta also did embroidery to earn some money. In an interview, he talked about the time after his father’s death and said,

My father was a rickshaw puller. One day he suffered a stroke and was gone. My mother had to do some tailoring work to make ends meet. My elder brother and I also joined, as all three of us needed to work to manage three meals a day. Obviously, I could not get the protein-rich diet required to be a weightlifter, but I used to train anyway.”

They were earning so less that they could not fulfil their small needs. In an interview, Achinta’s brother said that they did not have money to perform their father’s last rites. He further said that they did not have money to get Achint’s phone repaired. He talked about his struggles and said,

Achinta and I worked in the fields; we harvested crops and carried the loads on our heads. We have carried paddy for Re 1 [per] bag. We didn’t always do it for money either. We did manual labour in a field for a week, at one point, because we were given an egg a day and a kilo of chicken at the end of it.”

According to Achinta, he did not have a childhood that every child of his age had. He talked about his routine during the struggling period and said,

My routine was very simple. Subah utho, thoda kaam karo, training jao (wake up in the morning, do some embroidery, then go and train) till 10am. Then go to school, come back. Train again, come home, do some more embroidery work, then go to sleep.”

Achinta Sheuli during his practice session

In 2013, Achinta got a call from the Army Sports Institute, Pune, to their institute after they saw his performance at the Junior Nationals where he came fourth. He joined the institute in 2015 when he was in class six.

He earns a stipend of Rs. 10,000 per month as he is a member of the Khelo India camp. In an interview, he said that there was a time when he used to manage with pocket money of Rs. 500, but now he is earning well.

Achinta’s coach, Das was a national-level weightlifter who retired due to a back injury. Achinta joined Das’ gym when he was ten years old. In an interview, Das said that when Achinta joined the gym, he was underweight. In an interview, he talked about Achinta and said,

When I first saw Achinta, he was very thin and did not have the appearance of a weightlifter at all. (But) one of the things that made him stand out is his hunger for the game. He does not give up easily.”

An old image of Achinta Sheuli when he started training initially

In 2019, the Reliance Foundation Youth Sports (RFYS) provided him with physiotherapists and sports science specialists.

He dedicated the gold medal won at the CWG 2022 to his coach and brother. He further said,

I am extremely happy and honored, I have had my fair share of struggles in life and to be standing here today and making the country proud is something that I have always dreamt of. This medal is just not mine, I’d like to dedicate this honor to my brother, my family, and my coach. I now look forward to the Olympic games and I hope that I can replicate my performance.”

In 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu congratulated him through a Twitter post for winning the gold medal at the CWG.

Delighted that the talented Achinta Sheuli has won a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games. He is known for his calm nature and tenacity. He has worked very hard for this special achievement. My best wishes to him for his future endeavours. pic.twitter.com/cIWATg18Ce

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 1, 2022

Achinta Sheuli has made India proud by winning gold and making the tricolor fly high at the #CommonwealthGames. You immediately overcame the failure in one attempt and topped the lineup. You are the champion who has created a history. Heartiest congratulations!

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 1, 2022