Overview
- Origin
- Modern
- Category
- Strength
- Olympic discipline
- No
- Paralympic discipline
- No
- Central pathway
- Federation and state pathway
- Athlete profiles on SportSupport
- 5
Governance and status
Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.
- Indian governing/organising body
- IPLF
- Ministry recognition
- Not currently verified
- International federation
- Not currently verified
- Khelo India inclusion
- Not currently verified
- TOPS eligibility
- Not currently verified
- Olympic status
- Not on the Olympic programme
- Paralympic status
- Not a Paralympic discipline
Powerlifting is listed on SportSupport in the strength category. Its recorded origin is Modern. It is not on the Olympic programme. We list IPLF as the Indian governing/organising body for the sport.
Powerlifting has a federation and state-level pathway in India, and athletes selected through IPLF may be eligible for state sports-quota employment and state cash awards where their state notifies the discipline. TOPS does not apply, as the discipline is outside the Olympic programme.
Scholarships & Funding
Central, state and private scholarships available for powerlifting athletes in India.
- Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)
Stipend, boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.
- National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to powerlifting.
- Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons
Lifetime monthly pension for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria at Asian, Commonwealth or World Championship level — Government of India. Whether a given powerlifting event counts depends on the scheme's notified list.
- State sports quota and government employment
Many states reserve government and public-sector posts for national-level medallists. Which powerlifting events and which certifying bodies a state accepts varies by state, so check your state's current notification.
Indian Players
5 profiles- Purnachandra BidikaOdisha
Purnachandra Bidika (born 4 April 1957) is an Indian powerlifter from Odisha. He has won 4 gold medals in 2006-World Power Lifting Championship. Bidika hails from an Adivasi family of Rayagada, Odisha.
- Rajinder Singh RaheluPunjab
Rajinder Singh Rahelu (born 22 July 1973) is an Indian Paralympic powerlifter. He won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in the 56 kg category. He represented India at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, finishing fifth in the final standings.
- Sachin ChaudharyIndia
Sachin Chaudhary (born 30 September 1983) is an Indian powerlifter. 50 kg event. He took the silver medal at the 2017 Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai with a career-best lift of 200 kg.
- Sakina KhatunKarnataka
Sakina Khatun (born 20 June 1989) is an Indian powerlifter from West Bengal. She won bronze medal in the women's 61 kg event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
- Saksham YadavIndia
Saksham Yadav (7 October 1993 – 7 January 2018) was a male Indian powerlifter and a former powerlifting world champion. He died on 7 January 2018 after suffering injuries received during a vehicle accident.
Rules
Powerlifting contests three lifts in fixed order — squat, bench press, deadlift — with three attempts each. Lifters compete by bodyweight class and age category (sub-junior, junior, senior, masters); the best valid attempt in each lift is added into a total, and ties are broken in favour of the lighter bodyweight. Three referees judge each attempt: a squat must reach depth with the hip crease below the top of the knee, a bench press must be paused motionless on the chest and pressed to a locked, even finish, and a deadlift must finish fully upright with shoulders back and no downward movement of the bar. Missing commands ('squat', 'start'/'press'/'rack', 'down'), soft-locking, or shifting the feet brings red lights. Separate divisions exist for classic (raw) and equipped lifting, and all competitors fall under NADA/WADA anti-doping testing.
Authoritative rulebook: IPLF. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.
Positions
Typical roles across strength sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced powerlifting squad list.
- SnatchSingle-movement lift from floor to overhead — Olympic weightlifting event.
- Clean & jerkTwo-stage lift to the shoulders then overhead — Olympic weightlifting event.
- Squat / bench / deadliftThe three powerlifting disciplines contested by weight class.
Equipment
Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in powerlifting at a federation-recognised event.
- Calibrated power bar and competition plates with collars
- Squat rack, competition bench and platform
- Singlet, T-shirt and long socks for deadlift
- Approved lifting belt (max 10cm width)
- Flat-soled lifting shoes or squat shoes
- Knee sleeves or wrist wraps within length limits (classic division)
- Squat suit, bench shirt and knee wraps (equipped division)
Governing/organising body
Indian Powerlifting Federation is the body we list as the Indian governing/organising body for Powerlifting. We hold no confirmed Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so nothing here states that it is currently recognised.
- Origin
- Modern
- Olympic
- No
- Paralympic
- No
- Category
- Strength
Major Indian Events
Domestic competitions we hold a source for in powerlifting.
- National Championships (Sub Junior, Junior, Senior, Master, Benchpress, Deadlift, Federation Cup)
Organized by the Indian Powerlifting Federation (IPF, established 1975, headquartered in Jamshedpur, recognized by MYAS and the IOA), which has over 10,000 members and 37 affiliated state associations.
- Governance note
A separate body, World Powerlifting Congress India (WPC India, founded 2017), also runs national and state championships under a different international affiliation (World Powerlifting Congress, USA) — reflecting the same kind of multi-organization landscape seen in several other strength and combat sports.
International Events
Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in powerlifting.
- Hosting record
IPF has hosted 23 international championships (Asian, Commonwealth and World level) in India between 1981 and 2016, and its lifters have won more than 900 medals at championships held abroad. The federation states that lifter E.S. Bhaskaran set a still-unbeaten world record in deadlift.
- Asia-Pacific Powerlifting Championship
India was awarded hosting rights for this event (Australia, March 2019) in recognition of its improving international standing, per Powerlifting India's own leadership.
Leagues
No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for powerlifting. The national championship under IPLF remains the top domestic competition.
All leagues →International Players
Globally recognised powerlifting athletes to know outside India.
The international federation for powerlifting maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.
Career Options
Ways to build a career in powerlifting — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.
- Seven Indian powerlifters have received the Arjuna Award and one the Dronacharya Award; Monojit Bose received a Hall of Fame Award from the International Powerlifting Federation in 1979
- Playing pathway through IPF's zone (North/East/West/South) and state-level championships feeding into national events
- The sport has moved to fully digital nomination and results systems since 2017
- Federation leadership has been explicit about zero tolerance for anti-doping violations under NADA/WADA rules — a genuine, ongoing point of vigilance in a strength sport where doping risk is a live concern
Related academies
1 listed- SAI Western Centre, GandhinagarNationalGandhinagar, Gujarat · Since 1986
Western India's residential SAI centre with full sports-science support; its athletics, powerlifting and swimming programmes here are para disciplines.
Government Schemes
3 listedCentral and state schemes that fund training, stipends and awards for powerlifting athletes and academies.
- Sports Authority of India (SAI), Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, at SAI Netaji Subhas Western Centre (NSWC), Gandhinagar, Gujarat.SAI Centre of Excellence (Para), Netaji Subhas Western Centre, Gandhinagar
A Sports Authority of India Centre for Para Sports under its National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) Scheme at the SAI Netaji Subhas Western Centre (Regional Centre) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. A Ministry reply in the Rajya Sabha (24 March 2022) says the centre is operational in athletics, swimming, powerlifting and table tennis, and a reply of 6 February 2025 says the centre is actively training para athletes in athletics, swimming and other listed disciplines (the available text of that reply is cut off after swimming). An older SAI circular described a Centre of Excellence (Para) scheme at this centre with a strength of 65 para athletes (40 boys and 25 girls) in athletics, badminton, powerlifting, swimming and table tennis; badminton is not in the Ministry's 2022 list, so check which disciplines are current. A 2025 Press Information Bureau release says para athletes train at SAI centres in Sonepat and Gandhinagar with coaches, nutritionists, diet and recovery support.
- Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural GasIndianOil Divyashakti Para-Sports Scholarship Scheme
Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), a Government of India enterprise, offers 100 para-sports scholarships (50 for men, 50 for women) in two categories, Para Scholar and Elite Para Scholar, across 16 para games including badminton. This is a public-sector company scheme, not a government department scheme. A scholarship runs for a maximum of three years, with a performance review after each year.
- Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and PensionsRecruitment of Meritorious Sportspersons to Group C Posts in the Central Government (DoPT Sports Quota)
Under instructions of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), central government ministries and departments can directly recruit meritorious sportspersons to Group C posts (including erstwhile Group D) that are filled by direct recruitment, in relaxation of the normal recruitment procedure. The list of qualifying sports has 65 disciplines (63 listed in 2020, with Tennis Ball Cricket added in January 2021 and Yogasana in June 2022). Kudo, Karate, Taekwondo, Golf, Judo, Boxing, Wrestling, Badminton, Cricket and Tennis are among them. Railways and a few scientific and atomic-energy services follow separate rules.
FAQs
Common questions about powerlifting in India.
Who governs Powerlifting in India?▾
We list IPLF as the Indian governing/organising body for Powerlifting, and state associations affiliated to it run age-group and state-level competition. We hold no current-year Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition record for it, so this is not a statement that it is currently a recognised national sports federation — recognition is granted year by year.
Is Powerlifting an Olympic sport?▾
No, Powerlifting is not on the Olympic programme.
How do I start playing Powerlifting in India?▾
The usual routes are a school team under the School Games Federation of India (SGFI), a college team under the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), or a private academy affiliated to your state association under IPLF. Age-group state championships follow from there.
What government schemes support Powerlifting athletes?▾
TOPS does not apply, as Powerlifting is outside the Olympic programme. State-government cash awards or sports-quota employment can apply where a state notifies the discipline, which varies by state. Powerlifting does not appear on the official Khelo India Games discipline list, so we make no Khelo India claim for it.
Powerlifting in every state & UT
Dedicated pages for Powerlifting in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.
- Powerlifting in Andhra Pradesh
- Powerlifting in Arunachal Pradesh
- Powerlifting in Assam
- Powerlifting in Bihar
- Powerlifting in Chhattisgarh
- Powerlifting in Goa
- Powerlifting in Gujarat
- Powerlifting in Haryana
- Powerlifting in Himachal Pradesh
- Powerlifting in Jharkhand
- Powerlifting in Karnataka
- Powerlifting in Kerala
- Powerlifting in Madhya Pradesh
- Powerlifting in Maharashtra
- Powerlifting in Manipur
- Powerlifting in Meghalaya
- Powerlifting in Mizoram
- Powerlifting in Nagaland
- Powerlifting in Odisha
- Powerlifting in Punjab
- Powerlifting in Rajasthan
- Powerlifting in Sikkim
- Powerlifting in Tamil Nadu
- Powerlifting in Telangana
- Powerlifting in Tripura
- Powerlifting in Uttar Pradesh
- Powerlifting in Uttarakhand
- Powerlifting in West Bengal
- Powerlifting in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Powerlifting in Chandigarh
- Powerlifting in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
- Powerlifting in Delhi
- Powerlifting in Jammu & Kashmir
- Powerlifting in Ladakh
- Powerlifting in Lakshadweep
- Powerlifting in Puducherry