At 50, IRS officer Ekta wins national powerlifting medals, breaks records

While the majority of the world thinks of early retirement at 50, a senior woman bureaucrat in Delhi — Ekta Vishnoi — has proven that when it comes to fitness, age is just a number and you can continue to be on the top with hard work and dedication.

While Ekta Vishnoi, Deputy Director General at Sports Authority of India, has already made in the world of fitness, she is now making even bigger waves in the world of Powerlifting having won multiple medals and broken records at the recently concluded National Senior Powerlifting Championship in Hyderabad.

At 50, Vishnoi won a silver in a deadlift with the best lift of 165kg and a Bronze overall with the best lifts of 132.5 kg in squat, 70 kg in bench press and 165 kg in a deadlift. With these lifts, she also broke all records of the Master 2 category in the competition.

Earlier, Vishnoi had also won the gold medal in the national masters powerlifting championship and a gold and a silver medal in Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship and Asian Powerlifting Championship 2022. For her feat, she was also awarded a certificate of honour by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2023.

What is more, she is not making waves as an athlete, but also as an administrator.

An Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the 1999 batch, Vishnoi is currently serving as the Mission Director of Fit India Movement, a Government of India initiative to make India a fit and healthy nation, and heading the prestigious Khelo India Scheme.

Her aim now is to represent India and win medals at the World Masters Powerlifting Championship which will take place in South Africa in October this year.