Guntur girl Bollu Likitha wins Commonwealth Powerlifting gold, sets deadlift record

Vijayawada: What began as a fitness routine to lose weight has taken 17-year-old Bollu Likitha from Guntur to the Commonwealth podium.

Likitha won gold in the 76-kg sub-junior category at the Commonwealth Equipped Powerlifting Championship held in Winnipeg, Canada from September 17 to 27, finishing first in squat, bench press and deadlift. She also became the Commonwealth sub-junior deadlift record holder.

Her journey started a few years ago when she and her sister joined a gym in Guntur to get fitter. At the gym, she watched senior athletes training for weightlifting competitions and wanted to compete herself. Her sister eventually stopped, but Likitha continued.

Her mother Chaitanya, a single parent, was initially unsure. “I told her, ‘No, how will you manage it? It is a hard sport.’ But she was persistent. She told me, ‘I can do it.’ When I saw that confidence in her, I said yes,” Chaitanya said.

That confidence was rewarded in her first competition where she won medals. “That was my fire to continue the sport. I knew there was no going back,” Likitha said.

The 76-kg lifter went on to win gold at four Andhra Pradesh State Classic and Equipped Powerlifting Championships in 2025 and 2026, followed by bronze at the National Sub-Junior and Junior Classic Powerlifting Championship and silver at the National Equipped Powerlifting Championship in Hyderabad.

The Commonwealth title came after an earlier international outing where she missed the podium. “Last time I couldn’t win the internationals. This time, when I got the opportunity again, I worked twice as hard,” she said.

The win drew praise from Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who on October 1 congratulated the “Guntur girl” for bringing “immense glory to Andhra Pradesh and India.”Likitha, who once wanted to become a veterinary doctor, now wants to pursue powerlifting as far as she can. “I still give importance to my studies, but I want to go as far as I can, take part in more international competitions and make a mark for myself and my country,” she said.

She also hopes young lifters get more financial support, as the cost of competing internationally remains a challenge. “I’m a single parent. I didn’t have much financial support. But seeing my daughter give it her all, I also gave my all,” Chaitanya said.