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Indian powerlifter Keyaa Kunal Banerji, 21, won a silver medal at the 2026 IPF World Championships, deadlifting 140 kg, over three times her bodyweight.
Weightlifter Keeya Banerjee.
21-year-old Indian powerlifter Keyaa Kunal Banerji has gone viral after she pulled a 140 kg deadlift at the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa.
Competing in the Junior Women’s 47kg category, Banerji weighed 45.70kg but deadlifted 140kg — more than three times her competition bodyweight. The lift earned her a silver medal in the individual deadlift event and generated widespread attention on social media.
Banerji finished fifth overall in her category with a 280kg total, comprising a 90kg squat, 50kg bench press and 140kg deadlift. France’s Ines Herbaux won the deadlift event with 165kg, while Ireland’s Blathnaid O’Dwyer also lifted 140kg. Banerji finished ahead of O’Dwyer to claim silver.
She is Keyaa Banerji !!> She looks like the main character from an anime. She lifted 140 kg at the IPF World Championships and won a junior silver medal. She is making our country proud, while some losers are still bringing caste and state politics into this Some credit… pic.twitter.com/QAVpT8KaDL
— Pallavi (@Memesociety_) September 2, 2026
The performance also reflected Banerji’s significant improvement over the past year. At the 2025 national championship, she recorded an 82.5kg squat, 47.5kg bench press and 127.5kg deadlift for a 257.5kg total. At the 2026 national championship, those figures rose to 95kg, 52.5kg and 140kg respectively, taking her total to 287.5kg.
While Banerji’s lift became the biggest talking point, India also had a standout performance from Madhura Kar.
The Jalpaiguri powerlifter won four gold medals in the Sub-Junior Women’s 52kg category. Weighing 49.35kg, Kar lifted 107.5kg in the squat, 60kg in the bench press and 125kg in the deadlift for a 292.5kg total, winning gold in all four disciplines.
A Class XII student, Kar had previously won the National Powerlifting Championship in 2024 and retained the title in 2025. She also won the National Bench Press Championship in Faridabad earlier this year and took silver at the 2026 Asian Powerlifting Championship in China.
India’s third highlighted competitor, Asma Taherali Zabuawala, finished sixth in the Sub-Junior Women’s 84+kg category. She registered a 132.5kg squat, 75kg bench press and 165kg deadlift for a 372.5kg total.
Banerji’s 140kg effort ultimately stood out for its extraordinary strength-to-bodyweight ratio, with her deadlift reaching 3.06 times her competition weight.
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Ask News18Keyaa Banerji is a 21-year-old Indian powerlifter who went viral after deadlifting 140 kg at the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior & Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa. This lift, more than three times her bodyweight, earned her a silver medal in the individual deadlift event and garnered widespread social media attention.
Ask News18September 04, 2026, 4:17 PM IST
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