Gururaja Poojary Wiki, Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Gururaja Poojary is a noted Indian weightlifter. In 2018, he hit the headlines when he won a silver medal in the men’s 56 kg weight category at the Commonwealth Games organised in Gold Coast, Australia. In 2022, he came into the limelight after he won a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games organised in Birmingham, England.

Wiki/Biography

Gururaja Poojary was born on Saturday, 15 August 1992 (age 30 years; as of 2022) in Vandse, Karnataka, India. His zodiac sign is Leo. He completed his primary education at the Government higher primary school at Vandse in Kundapur Taluk and high school education at Mookambika High School, Kollur. During his school days, his body was slim and short but he always competed with the bullies of his school without fear. This spirit of Poojary persuaded his physical education teacher, Sukesh Shetty, to influence Poojary for wrestling. Soon, he started practising wrestling on mud and clay as his parents did not afford a mat for him. He practised according to the ‘gatta gusti’ culture in the South Canara and Kollur districts of Karnataka and Northern Malabar in Kerala. Later, he joined Sri Dharmastala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College, Ujire to pursue a graduate degree. ^[1]The Indian Express  In college, he began searching for a wrestling coach for professional wrestling training. Meanwhile, he joined a gym after college where he became friends with some famous weightlifters. Soon, he began meeting these weightlifters often. In 2010, he started practising weightlifting under the guidance of Rajendra Prasad. Later, he represented his college in weightlifting championships. In a media conversation, Gururaja Poojary stated that he switched his interest from wrestling to powerlifting during his college days. He said,

I started hitting the gym and there I met a couple of powerlifters. I soon began to hang out with them and started power-lifting myself.”

For P Gururaja, who began as a wrestler before switching to power lifting and then weightlifting, it has been a steady rather than a spectacular climb

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 1″

Weight (approx.): 56 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Mahabala Poojari, and he works as a truck driver. His mother’s name is Paddu Poojari, and she is a homemaker. He has five brothers named Rajesh Poojary, Manohar Poojary, Mohan Poojary, Ravirajand Poojary, and Uday Poojary. All of his brothers are Kabaddi players.

Wife

He is not married.

Career

Indian Airforce

In 2015, Gururaja Poojary started working in the Indian Air Force as an Aircraft-man. In a media conversation, he narrated that he wished to join the Indian Army but the height issues pushed him to join Indian Airforce.

Weightlifting

In 2015, Gururaja Poojary participated in the Weightlifting National championships organised in Jalandhar and won a silver medal and the All India University title. He then competed in the Senior Level Weightlifting Championship held at Jaipur (Rajasthan) in the 56 kg Weight Category and won a silver medal in 2015. In the same year, he participated in the Senior Level Weightlifting Championship held at Patiala (Punjab) and won a bronze medal in the 56 kg Weight Category. He started participating in the senior national championships in 2016 and clinched a gold medal in a national weightlifting event organised in Tamil Nadu. He then participated in the Commonwealth senior weightlifting championship and bagged a gold medal by lifting a personal best of 249 kg (108+141) in Penang, Malaysia in 2016. During the same year, he participated in the South Asian Games held in Guwahati and won a gold medal in the 56kg category.

In 2017, he participated in the Commonwealth Championships held in Australia and clinched a bronze medal. In 2018, he participated in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia and bagged a silver medal in the men’s 56 kg weight category.

Medals

Commonwealth Games

• Silver medal in 2018 at Gold Coast in the 56 kg category

• Bronze medal in 2022 at Birmingham in 61 kg category

Commonwealth Championships

• Gold medal in 2016 at Penang in the 56 kg category

• Silver medal in 2021 at Tashkent in the 61 kg category

• Bronze medal in 2017 at Gold Coast in 56 kg category

Facts/Trivia

• According to Gururaja Poojary, he was inspired by the Indian wrestler Shushil Kumar to opt for wrestling in 2008 after Sushil won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics.

• His coach Rajendra Prasad disclosed in a media interview that in 1999, Gururaja Poojary set a record for himself by lifting 193 kg (total in snatch and knee jerk) and broke his own record in 2012. He continued by saying that Gururaja Poojary enhanced his weightlifting power to 125kgs in 2015.

• Soon after winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth senior weightlifting championships in 2016, he narrated in a media interview that the living standards of his family had improved after he won a gold medal. He said,
  

  When I started weightlifting in 2010, things were hard at home. I needed money for my diet and supplements, but my father couldn’t support me. We were a family of eight. Things are better now.”

• After winning gold medals in Commonwealth Games in 2018, he was honoured with the ‘Ekalavya,’ the highest sports award by the Government of Karnataka.

• In a media conversation, Poojary disclosed that he was a punctual student during his college days and used to attend regular classes. He added that when he was pursuing his graduation, he got inspired by the Indian weightlifter Vikar Thakur, who won a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games for the country. He continued by saying that at that time he wished to win a medal for India. He said,
  

  Then Vikas Thakur won a medal at the last Commonwealth Games and I was inspired. Even I wanted to win a medal.”

  

  Gururaj Poojary being honoured by the Karnataka government officials

• The childhood of Gururaja Poojary and his five brothers was passed in poverty. In a media conversation, his mother stated that the financial conditions of her family got improved only when her sons started winning medals for the country. She added that it was only because of the hard work of her sons. She said,
  

  Poverty is something we have lived in all our life. If we were a little bit well-off financially or received the necessary support and encouragement, maybe all of my sons could have made our country proud.”