In a horrific accident, a Junior National Game gold medallist powerlifter died in Bikaner (Rajasthan) on Wednesday. According to PTI, police have confirmed that Yashtika Acharya, who was only 17-years-old, died in the gym after her neck broke due to a 270kg rod falling on her.

Acharya was reportedly immediately taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead. According to police, the accident took place when the trainer was making Yashtika lift weights in the gym. Even the trainer sustained minor injuries during the accident.

The family hasn’t filed a case yet. Also after the post-mortem, the body was given to the family on Wednesday. A video of the incident has also gone viral on social media.

Yashtika bagged a gold medallist at the National Bench Press Championship in Goa last year, in the Sub-Junior 84kg and above category.

Powerlifting is a competitive strength sport, consisting of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts; squat, bench press and deadlift. In Olympic weightlifting, athletes attempt a maximal weight single-lift effort of a barbell loaded with weight plates.

Powerlifters practice weight training to better their performance in the three competitive lifts. Also weight training routines used in powerlifting are varied. Many powerlifting routines also invoke sports science principals, but there is controversy on the scientific foundation of such training methods. Training is also different from bodybuilding and weightlifting, with less focus on volume and hypertrophy than body building, and also less focus on power generation than weightlifting.

The sport can be traced back to strength training during the ancient Mayan civilisation and ancient Persian time. The idea found its concept in ancient Greece as men lifted stones to prove their strength and manhood. The modern sport had its inception in the UK and the USA in the 1950s.

The rules of the sport have also evolved and developed over time. Most federations now allow the sumo deadlift, in which the athlete's foot position is outside their grip position.

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