Richmond powerlifting champion nominated for “Athlete of the Year”

Richmond powerlifting champion Sumeet Sharma has been nominated for Athlete of the Year by Drishti Magazine, a South Asian lifestyle magazine launched in 2010.

One of the criteria for being nominated, said Sharma, is giving back to the community, adding that the result doesn’t matter – rather, he hopes to encourage more people to find peace and joy by helping others.

Sharma won a gold medal for Team Canada in powerlifting at the North American Powerlifting Championships in Panama City last October. In addition to that win, he also bagged gold in both the 2017 and 2018 Western Powerlifting Championships. 

He said he hopes to continue to make Canada proud, but with the pandemic putting events and competitions on pause, he currently isn’t able to compete on the global stage. 

However, Sharma doesn’t feel discouraged by current events. Instead, he decided to give a big lift to frontline workers across the Lower Mainland. 

“Frontline workers have been working day-in and day-out, so we decided to go to hospitals and deliver food supplies for all the hard work they have been doing,” said Sharma, adding that he has partnered with an Indian Restaurant and a retailer to donate coffee, water bottles, butter chicken and nutrition bars to ICU workers. 

As a BC Corrections Officer in Surrey, Sharma also came up with the idea to get his whole emergency response team involved. 

“I talked to my team members, and they are happy to come on board. I organized with my team to get pizzas delivers to Langley Hospital.”

Sharma was also featured on the Young Bosses podcast recently, in which he shared his struggles and accomplishments with young viewers to inspire them to achieve their goals. 

“If you have a goal, just put in the effort, determination, patience and motivation, then you will be qualified to accomplish your dreams,” said Sharma.