LIFTING LAURELS...Tushar Darekar pumps iron under the watchful eye of Madhukar. The father-son combine have contributed immensely to the growth of powelifting in Maharashtra and the country.

MUMBAI, July 25: Power is the Darekar family pride. And feats of strength by father and son have set a record of sorts, unmatched in any other discipline in the State.

Powerlifters Madhukar and Tushar are Shiv Chhatrapatti Awardees. Not surprisingly, both contributed to the organisational effort at the recent West Zone and Maharashtra championships held at the Andheri Stadium Complex.

Tushar, 30, virtually grew up with the sport -- a young discipline emanting from its illustrious cousin, weightlifting. An eight-time state champion, Tushar was quite naturally influenced by the record-breaking elder Darekar who set a national record in the squat, benchpress and total poundage in the 1977 championships to complement an international gold medal in Sydney, Australia.

Madhukar, 56, is now general secretary of the Mumbai Suburban Powerlifting Association and together with junior, runs a health club.

Tushar, apparently, was an attentive lad as dad went through the motions of pumping iron. He held the state title eight years in succession before retiring this year to concentrate on the family business.

Younger sibling Arun followed in the footsteps, but sticks to weightlifting. A bronze medallist at the 1994 National Games, Arun will consider a switch in the later stages of his career.

Tushar has carried out his exploits in the 100 kg class, but it were swimming and shot put that set the tone for awesome feats of strength. And with father as coach, Tushar was readied for greater things.

The Darekars provide powerlifting a beacon of hope as it struggles for recognition. The discipline is knocking on Olympic doors, optimistic of being included early next millennium. If and when it achieves the status, the Darekars believe the sport will receive a tremendous fillip.

After all, besides hockey, India hold, in powerlifting, the next best claim to sporting achievement on a truly global platform. Picking up medals regularly, the country's fortunes reached a new high in recent times with the feats of Kunjurani and Sanjeevan Bhaskaran.

But powerlifters remain incognito. Ambar Joshi, genial giant with a hat-trick of state titles, is still awaiting employment. And with no glamour in the pursuit, the strongmen and women go through the grind for the sheer love of it all.

Tushar discerns the problems the sport faces as he says: ``Powerlifting talent comes from the gymnasiums in the middle-class areas. It means that the sport needs a lot of financial support. Sadly, that is lacking, although we hope that deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde's recent sanctioning of Rs 50,000 will lead to better days.''

``A middle-class powerlifter finds the going tough. The crepe powerlifting costume is not available in India. It costs Rs 2,500, the protective belt Rs 1,000. The benchpress costume that improves poundage by 5-10 kg costs Rs 2,000,'' he added.

Yet, powerlifting as a training aid forms the basis of almost all sporting endeavours. Tushar explains: `` Strength in the arms and chest is a vital factor in most sports -- including hockey, cricket and even athletics. Ben Johnson could benchpress 185 kg and the Canadian's chiseled body is typical of all world class sprinters.''

Sadly, so too are the controversies surrounding powerlifting and weightlifting, plagued by accounts of drug abuse.

Happily for the Darekars, the passing on of nuances spanning a generation protected Tushar from undesirable influences that have crept into the sport.

The emphasis, under Madhukar's tutelage, was on diet instead of artificial means. Medication, if any, is restricted to ayurveda and multivitamin tablets.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.