Raipur : Days before Arunachal Pradesh weightlifter Anai Wangsu was to fly out to Raipur for the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games, she had to be admitted to the hospital as her chronic gastric issues once again flared up. She had to be put on intravenous fluids to regain strength.
The 21-year-old has been battling this condition since 2019 and the illness strikes without warning, bringing weakness, dehydration, and extreme fatigue. In a sport like weightlifting, where physical strength and balance are crucial.
But undeterred by the ailment, Anai Wangsu was back in training the very next day after being discharged as she was keen to change the narrative of near misses in her career.
“I had won bronze and silver medals in the past and everyone in my family kept asking me when I will win a gold. Now, everyone is happy that I have finally achieved that goal,” Anai told SAI Media after grabbing the women’s 58kg gold here.
In the past, Anai had won a pair of bronze medals at the youth nationals. She secured silver medals at different Khelo India Games, including the Khelo India University Games in Rajasthan in 2025. But, the gold medal always remained just out of reach.
At last year’s All India University nationals, Anai missed gold by a single lift as the one-minute time limit ran out. The pain of that moment still lingers. “I cried a lot that day. It felt like all my hard work had gone to waste,” she recalled.
Belonging to the Wangcho tribe, Anai’s journey in weightlifting was driven by her elder brother Sinchad Bansu’s dream, who is himself a former national-level weightlifter working with Arunachal Pradesh Police force.
Sinchad took Anai to a Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Itanagar for trials, hoping she would achieve what he could not. Initially disinterested, Anai gradually embraced the sport, and it soon became her goal.
“The weightlifting and boxing arenas were in the same hall at the SAI Centre. It was also the time when Mary Kom movie was released and I felt I wanted to become a boxer. But my brother talked me out of it and helped me focus on weightlifting,” said Anai, who was soon selected to join NCOE, Lucknow for advanced training.
However, the COVID pandemic meant that she had to return to Arunachal Pradesh where lack of proper nutrition and resources led to gastric problems that has only aggravated over the years.
“I work very hard, but sometimes my health suddenly deteriorates. I don’t understand why my body stops supporting me,” Anai said, adding the gold medal here has given me the confidence that all that hard work isn’t going in vain.
