Pride of Orissa Ravi Kumar is now the 'Kohinoor' of Berhampur

Ravi Kumar proposes weightlifting academy in Berhampur

Weightlifter K Ravi Kumar, who struck gold in the Commonwealth Games, has sought setting up of a modern weightlifting academy in Berhampur. Ravi, who set a record by lifting 321kg in the men's 69kg category on October 6 gave the proposal when he met chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday after returning from New Delhi. Although some facilities for weightlifting existed in the Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar, there was none in Berhampur, which was his hometown and had produced several weightlifters of international repute, the 22-year-old said. After winning the gold medal in Commonwealth Games, he has set a target for the Asian Games to be held from November 12 to 25 at Guangzhou in China. Narayan Sahu, secretary of the Veer Hanuman Club where almost all reputed weightlifters of the state including Ravi Kumar were trained, said it was time the government considered a proposal to set up a weightlifting academy in Berhampur.