A viral video of a younger Indian lady pulling a unprecedented weight off the ground has put powerlifting within the Indian sports activities dialog, with 21-year-old Keyaa Kunal Banerji rising because the unlikely face of the thrill.Banerji’s beautiful 140kg deadlift on the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Basic Powerlifting Championships in Solar Metropolis, South Africa, has caught consideration not simply because it earned her a silver medal, however as a result of the elevate was greater than thrice her competitors body weight of 45.70kg.Social media customers have been sharing clips of the elevate whereas congratulating Banerji, with reactions starting from admiration for her power to feedback about her look. Extra importantly, a number of customers celebrated the truth that an achievement in powerlifting was producing mainstream sporting dialogue in India.
Who’s Keyaa Kunal Banerji?
Banerji is a 21-year-old Indian powerlifter competing within the Junior Girls’s 47kg class. Her breakthrough efficiency got here in a subject the place each kilogram issues, along with her 45.70kg body weight making the dimensions of her deadlift notably hanging.She completed the championships with a 280kg whole, comprising a 90kg squat, 50kg bench press and 140kg deadlift.Whereas she completed fifth total within the 47kg junior class, Banerji’s largest success got here within the particular person deadlift occasion. Her 140kg effort put her second behind France’s Ines Herbaux, who lifted 165kg.Eire’s Blathnaid O’Dwyer additionally lifted 140kg, however Banerji completed forward of her within the deadlift standings to say the silver medal.The consequence represents a major enchancment in Banerji’s numbers over the previous yr. On the 2025 nationwide championship, she recorded an 82.5kg squat, 47.5kg bench press and 127.5kg deadlift for a 257.5kg whole.Her progress continued on the 2026 nationwide championship, the place she posted a 95kg squat, 52.5kg bench press and 140kg deadlift for a 287.5kg whole.The 140kg deadlift in South Africa due to this fact wasn’t an remoted achievement. It was the newest step in a quickly bettering profession.
Banerji wasn’t India’s solely standout performer – Madhura Kar wins 4 golds
Whereas Banerji’s viral elevate has generated the most important social-media buzz, India had a number of noteworthy performances on the championships.The standout was Madhura Kar, a younger powerlifter from Jalpaiguri, who produced a exceptional four-gold-medal efficiency within the Sub-Junior Girls’s 52kg class.Kar, weighing 49.35kg, lifted 107.5kg within the squat, 60kg within the bench press and 125kg within the deadlift, ending with a 292.5kg whole. She received gold in all 4 disciplines.Her achievement is especially notable given her age. A Class XII pupil from Jalpaiguri, Kar had already established herself on the nationwide stage, successful the Nationwide Powerlifting Championship in 2024 and retaining the title in 2025.She additionally received the Nationwide Bench Press Championship in Faridabad this yr.Earlier in 2026, Kar completed second total and received silver for India on the Asian Powerlifting Championship in China. Her four-gold haul in South Africa has now added one other main achievement to her quickly creating résumé.
Asma finishes sixth in 84+kg class
India’s third highlighted ladies’s competitor, Asma Taherali Zabuawala, competed within the Sub-Junior Girls’s 84+kg class.Zabuawala completed sixth total after registering a 132.5kg squat, 75kg bench press and 165kg deadlift, giving her a complete of 372.5kg.The three performances underline the breadth of India’s participation on the championships — from the lighter weight classes, the place Banerji’s exceptional strength-to-bodyweight ratio turned the speaking level, to the heavier divisions.
Why Banerji’s elevate has resonated
Powerlifting hardly ever receives the type of mainstream consideration loved by cricket, soccer, badminton or athletics in India. Banerji’s viral elevate, nonetheless, has offered an immediately comprehensible sporting second: a forty five.70kg athlete efficiently deadlifting 140kg on a world championship stage.The numbers inform the story. Her deadlift was 3.06 instances her body weight, whereas her mixed 280kg whole was greater than six instances her competitors body weight.And that’s maybe why the video has travelled past the standard powerlifting viewers.Banerji’s silver medal has given Indian powerlifting a uncommon viral second, whereas Kar’s four-gold haul and Zabuawala’s sixth-place end have quietly added to a robust Indian displaying in South Africa.
