Who is Ajay Singh Shekhawat?

Ajay Singh Shekhawat is an Indian professional athlete who is part of the upcoming Commonwealth Games squad of Weightlifting for India. He won the gold medal in the 77 Kg category at the 2017 Commonwealth Junior Championship. He receives assistance from the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Program of the GoSports Foundation.

Ajay Singh was born on  April 17, 1997, in Rajasthan. Ajay’s mother is a housewife and his father is a retired military officer. His brother is also an army official, and has a younger sister, who is pursuing her graduation. Ajay is employed by the Indian Army and attends Army Sports Institute in Pune, Maharashtra.

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Ajay was always passionate about sports; prior to taking up weightlifting, he experimented with 20-kilometer race walking. However, his trainers believed that his talent was better suited for weightlifting and advised him to pursue the sport professionally.

Ajay won the bronze medal at the 2017 Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships in Kathmandu, Nepal, in addition to the gold at the 2017 Junior Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.

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 He also won the men’s 81 kg category, giving India its third gold medal in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship in December 2021. With this win, he also became the third weightlifter from India to automatically qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Ajay Singh Shekhawat set a national record by snatching 147 kg while winning the gold medal, adding to his total of 322 kg lift in the same tournament. At the 64th Inter Services Weightlifting Championship in 2021 in Pune,  Singh took home a bronze medal.

 He was scheduled to compete in the Doha Olympic weightlifting qualifier competition but because of his torn passport, he was prevented from boarding the aircraft. Despite being scheduled to compete in the 81 kg weight category tournament, Ajay Singh was forced to return from the IGI Airport, shattering his dream of competing in the Tokyo Olympics.