Indian weightlifting gets first high-performance director in Aveenash Pandoo
A coach for over 20 years, Aveenash Pandoo helped Indonesia win medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics and has worked with the International Weightlifting Federation.
The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) has appointed Mauritian Aveenash Pandoo as its first High-Performance Director until the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced on Friday.
The appointment comes with a view of creating a strong grassroots structure for junior weightlifters as India look to build upon Mirabai Chanu’s
silver in Tokyo. In his role, Pandoo will be in charge of creating a talent identification system to improve India’s bench strength.
With over two decades of coaching experience, the 46-year-old Aveenash Pandoo, currently based in South Africa, helped Indonesian weightlifters clinch two silver medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Pandoo was also a member of the International Weightlifting Federation’s development and education committee from 2013 to 2017.
Aveenash Pandoo will also be tasked to develop junior development programmes and competition structures at the SAI National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) across India.
Among his other responsibilities, Aveenash Pandoo is also tasked with the enhancement of the development programmes for coaches and referees each year along with a transparent ranking system for weightlifters.