City youth youngest Indian to hold IFBB title

Ajay Joshi

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, November 26

“From early morning training sessions to late-night diet meals, it takes a lot of hard work and discipline to excel in ‘bodybuilding’. Many times, our bodies give up, but hope and dedication keep us going in the game,” said a 23-year-old bodybuilder from the city, who has become the youngest Indian to hold the International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) pro card title.

Turning his hobby at the age of 17 into his passion in 20s, Ravneet never believed that he would clinch the prestigious title in first attempt.

Winner of the class E category of the Men’s Physique Bodybuilding Championship, considered as the ‘Asia’s largest ‘amateur Mr Olympia’ Expo’, Ravneet competed with around 500 athletes from 43 countries to finally clinch the prestigious IFBB pro card title. The championship, organised by the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness, concluded recently in Mumbai in which he gave a tough competition to participants from the United Kingdom, China, Dubai, Iran, and other countries.

Even after suffering muscle and ligaments tears in his legs during intense training sessions, Ravneet never held back from hustling and continued to achieve his goals.

He said while preparing for the competition, he had to finish different training sessions consisting sports, cardio and weightlifting.

Rigorous diet plans and keeping a tab on calorie count were another major tasks that he had to follow for the past one year to embrace the pro card title, which has now qualified him to compete in professional competitions such as ‘Mr Olympia’, that are organised internationally. A student of DAV College, Jalandhar, Ravneet said he started working on his body at a young age and also won several inter- college and state-level competitions to give a boost to his motivation.

Considering Arnold Schwarzenegger his inspiration, Ravneet is now aiming to maintain his body posture to achieve ‘Mr Olympia’ contest, in which international pro card holders prove their mettle.

Ravneet, who resides at Sudarshan Park, Maqsudan, here, gave credit to his parents and coaches Ricky Singh and Harry Sandhu for his success.