Age defying Pune based powerlifter Bhavna Tokekar, a 47-year-old mother of two teenagers, just won a gold medal at the World Powerlifting Championship in Moscow. Her extraordinary strength — both physically and mentally — is what makes Bhavna a fitting testament of empowerment in the field of sports. She is creating milestones, restoring our faith in an active lifestyle at a mature age, especially related to women.
Bhavna recently took to Instagram to share her moment of triumph with her followers:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Bhavana Bhave Tokekar (@bhavnatokekar) on
The mother of two, Bhavna made headlines earlier this year when won four gold medals at the Open Asian Powerlifting Championships of AWPC/WPC at Chelyabinsk in Russia. Speaking to SheThePeople.TV about choosing a sport this late, Bhavna, who started weight-lifting just six years ago, said she looks up to Mary Kom for inspiration. “She went ahead with marriage, had kids and still competed where people had ruled out that she is finished now. Family first and rest everything later,” she added. Have been maintaining an active lifestyle all her life, Bhavna had run two half marathons with her husband, Gp Capt S Tokekar, who is an Indian Air Force fighter pilot.
Bhavna was born in Vidisha and brought up in Gujarat. Joining gym was unplanned as she wanted to reduce the side effects of medicines she took for the treatment of skin inflammation. She made up her mind about Powerlifting when IAF bodybuilding team told her about the benefits weight lifting in increasing her body strength. “I wanted to become fitter, I wanted to be stronger and that’s when I started weight training,” Bhavna revealed to SheThePeople.TV. She is redefining myths surrounding bodybuilding and reshaping her dreams.
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Key Takeaways:
- Pune based powerlifter Bhavna Tokekar, a 47-year-old mother of two teenagers, just won a gold medal at the World Powerlifting Championship in Moscow
- Before this, Bhavna made headlines earlier this year when won four gold medals at the Open Asian Powerlifting Championships of AWPC/WPC at Chelyabinsk in Russia
- Bhavna started weight-lifting just six years ago, and had run two half marathons with her husband, Gp Capt S Tokekar, who is an Indian Air Force fighter pilot
An incredible year so far
The year 2019 remained faithful to Bhavna as in May this year, she attended trials in Bengaluru and got selected for the U67.5 category in the 45-50 age group. Soon, the homemaker-turned-powerlifting mother brought home four gold medals at the Open Asian Powerlifting Championships from Russia in July this year. Before that, same year, she approached the WPC Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh state head for competing in the powerlifting event. Following the selection for Masters2 category in the 45-50 age category, Bhavana participated in the Women’s Masters 45-49 AWPC classic in the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) World Championships 2019. After rigorous training and the twists and turns life brought her, she claimed a name in the World Championships which included squat 100kg, bench press 70kg and deadlift 127.5kg totalling 297.5kg.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Bhavana Bhave Tokekar (@bhavnatokekar) on
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Talking about her passion for powerlifting and giving advice to women who wish to pursue their passion post motherhood, she said, “There is nothing like post or pre-motherhood. Whatever you enjoy, you have to keep doing it without thinking of the benefits. Motherhood isn’t something that’s forced upon you. It is something you should cherish you should enjoy and be proud of, because you are raising the future of our country. You are bringing a child to this world and you should be proud of it. It should be the priority of all the mothers to raise their children properly.”
Bhavna Tokekar won accolades for #India. She competed in Open Asian Powerlifting Championships of AWPC/ WPC held at Chelyabinsk, Russia on the 13/14th of July in U67.5 Masters2 Category to bag 04 Gold in Powerlifting. Bhavna is wife of #IAF fighter pilot& active member of AFWWA. pic.twitter.com/dkFDEeHmTJ
— PRO Defence Nagpur (@PRODefNgp) July 15, 2019
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Feature Image Credit: Bhavna Tokekar