The death of a 17-year-old powerlifting champion in a gym Rajasthan's Bikaner district while training has raised questions about the safety measures in place.
Yashtika Acharya died while training in the gym, trying to do a squat with 270kg. She lost her balance and stumbled backwards, with the rod falling on her neck and snapping it. The video of the gruesome incident soon went viral on social media.
She had won the gold medal in National Bench Press Championship in Goa in October last year in the Sub Junior 84kg and above category.
It was, apparently, her second attempt, the first being successful. Though Yashtika's spotter and coach Ashish was there assisting her, he could not save her. He too suffered injuries.
Naya Shahar SHO Vikram Tiwari said she was taken to the hospital immediately after the accident, but she was declared dead. Probe is on.
The SHO said the family has not registered any case. After the post-mortem, the body was handed over to the family on Wednesday.
Power-lifting is a competitive strength sport in which an athlete tries to lift maximum weight on three lifts—squat, bench press and deadlift.
