Ahmedabad’s Lalitbhai Patel 56-Year-Old Powerlifting Champion Strikes Gold Thrice at World Championship
BILKULONLINE
Ahmedabad, May 31: In a moment of pride for the city and the nation, 56-year-old Lalitbhai Patel of Ahmedabad has etched his name in the history books by clinching three gold medals at the World Powerlifting Championship held from May 10 to 12, 2025 at Thailand.
Competing in the above 49 years, 83+ kg category, Lalitbhai dominated all three events — Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift.
This historic feat makes him the first athlete from Ahmedabad to secure triple gold in the senior category at an international level.
At a media interaction, his coach Rajnikant Parmar and Faizan Patel, General Secretary of the Gujarat Powerlifting Association and the event organizer, lauded Lalitbhai’s dedication and determination. Faizan Patel played a pivotal role in motivating and supporting Lalitbhai throughout his preparation.
“I never imagined I could achieve this at my age,” said an emotional Lalitbhai, speaking to BILKULONLINE. “But my coaches filled me with energy and belief. It was their faith and my hard work that made this dream a reality.”
Lalitbhai, who also participated in bodybuilding championships, revealed his commitment to fitness, training 3.5 hours daily and maintaining a disciplined vegetarian diet that included protein-rich items like tofu, moong, paneer, makhana, fruits, and oats.
A strong believer in the national sports movement, he shared that the slogan ‘Khelega India to Jeetega India’ by Prime Minister Narendra Modi continuously inspired him to push his limits.
He also voiced the need for greater awareness and support for powerlifting in India. “This sport has immense potential. With more encouragement from the government and the public, India can shine on the global stage,” Lalitbhai added.
Lalitbhai has been a vegetarian and believes that powerlifting doesnt necessarily means you become a non-vegetarian if you choose to. In fact, paneer, makhana, fruits, cereals, sprouts and more that I consumed gave me enough strength to life the weight, he said.
Lalitbhai’s triumph serves as a shining example of how age is no barrier to achieving greatness — with determination, support, and a clear vision, anything is possible.
Rajnikant Parmar an experienced and trained professional has been the coach of Lalitbhai. He said when Lalitbhai contacted him for training, he was not sure of him going far off but his conviction made him take his words as his commitment. So, he continued training him and the result was awesome. Lalitbhai excelled at all levels and several small and big competitions before he finally secured three gold medals for three important segments of powerlifting at international competition at Thailand.
Faizan Patel, the man behind the moral and wholesome strength of Lalitbhai was all smiles at the success of Lalitbhai. He said there is so much potential and vast opportunities for our youngsters and elderly both under different categories of powerlifting sport.
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