India's Commonwealth Games Silver Medalist's Father Is Suffering From Cancer: "Difficult Life"
Rishikanta Singh Chanambam produced a brilliant performance to clinch the Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medal in the men's 60kg weightlifting event.
- Rishikanta Singh Chanambam produced a brilliant performance to clinch the Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medal
- Rishikanta's father was in Rajasthan, where he was undergoing treatment for blood cancer at AIIMS Jodhpur
- "We have had a very difficult life, and I've always tried to make him smile," the weightlifter said
Rishikanta Singh Chanambam produced a brilliant performance to clinch the Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medal in the men's 60kg weightlifting event on Sunday. It was a stunning achievement for the weightlifter, who overcame severe challenges to make his dreams a reality. While Rishikanta was competing in Glasgow, his father was in Uttarlai, Rajasthan, where he was undergoing treatment for blood cancer at AIIMS Jodhpur. The weightlifter opened up about his father and also spoke about his struggles and challenges, as he worked as a daily-wage labourer before taking up the sport full-time.
"We have had a very difficult life, and I've always tried to make him smile because I never got to spend much time with him," Rishikanta told the Times of India.
"The last time I went home, I even took him to a scooter showroom so he could finally buy one for himself."
Since his childhood, Rishikanta's main priority has been to look after his family.
"I used to work as a daily-wage labourer with some of my friends," Rishikanta said.
"I worked for about two to three months. I wasn't a skilled worker, so I mostly helped with whatever work was available and earned around Rs 150 a day."
"We don't even own farmland. Our parents worked on other people's fields to earn a living," he added.
He also revealed that he wanted to become a boxer before pivoting to weightlifting.
“My dream was to become a boxer,” he said. “I even trained in boxing for a while because I admired the sport after watching Dingko Singh. But once I started competing in weightlifting and won a tournament, I realised this was where I belonged.”
He narrowly missed out on winning the gold medal but Rishikanta revealed that he was suffering from a lingering knee injury going into the clean and jerk round.
“I believe I could have won gold if I had been fully fit,” Rishikanta admitted.
“The injury didn't allow me to train the way I wanted before the competition,” he added.