PRABDEEP Sanghera of Surrey’s Lions Weightlifting Club headed by famous coach Makhan Sandhu made her entry into the senior category by breaking all three provincial records at the 42nd Annual Sea Festival Weightlifting Competition (Open International Weightlifting Competition). The event was held at Semiahmoo Secondary School in White Rock on June 28 and 29.

For Prabdeep Sanghera, 2013 was the last year as junior and, therefore, she did not miss any important international competition last year. She finished her juniorship in 2013 by winning the silver medal in Junior World Championships at Peru in May and then the gold medal at the Commonwealth Championship in November 2013 at Penang in Malaysia.

This year, the Sea Festival was the first competition for Prabdeep and she surprised everyone by breaking all the three (Snatch, Clean and Jerk, and Total) provincial records. In Snatch, she lifted 100 kg which was three kg more than the existing record. In Clean and Jerk, the previous record created in 2007 was 115 kg and Prabdeep broke that record by lifting 117 kg. Her total of 217 kg was also a new provincial record.

Prabdeep’s younger sister, Snimerdeep Sanghera, was also competing in the same category as Prabdeep and she had to be content with the silver medal. But she was happy by winning the title of Best Junior Woman of the competition.

Ishmeen Dhesi won the gold medal in the 48 kg category and surprisingly she was declared Best Youth Girl of the competition.

Other lifters from Lions Club were Simrin Sandhu who won the gold medal in 69 kg category, and Hana Dhillon won the bronze medal in the same category.

In men’s, from Lions Club, Dean Dosanz won the gold medal in the 62 kg category, and Martin Minkov won bronze in 85 kg.

Arjan Atwal lifted 92 kg in Snatch and 107 in Clean and Jerk.

Sandhu thanked all his fellow coaches for their dedication.

Sandhu coached for 11 years in India before coming to Canada and has produced many outstanding weightlifters here who have won medals at the provincial, national and international levels.

Incidentally, Prabdeep’s father, Harnek Sanghera of Talwan village in Jalandhar district of Punjab state in India, was an outstanding weightlifter in India. He was the record holder in his category for three years and won the gold medal in the South Asian Federation Games, too.

Here are her achievements over the years:

Junior National Championship:
2006 – Silver
2007 – Silver
2008 – Gold
2009 – Gold
2010 – Silver
2011 – Gold
2012 – Gold and Best Female Lifter
2013 – Gold

Senior National Championship:
2009 – Silver
2011 – Fourth place
2012 – Bronze
2013 – Silver

International participation and medals:

* 2013 – Gold medal in Junior Commonwealth Championship at Malaysia in November 2013
* Silver medal in Senior Commonwealth Championship at Malaysia in November 2013
* Silver medal in the Junior World Championship held in Lima, Peru, in May 2013
* 2012- Bronze medal in Senior Pan American Championship
* 2012 – Participated in Junior World Championship
* 2011 – Participated in Junior World Championship
* 2010- Participated in Youth Olympic Games
* 2009 – 6th place in Youth World Championship
* 2007- Gold medal in Sub Youth Pan Am Championship
* 2006 – Gold medal in Sub Youth Pan Am Championship