By MARK REY MONTEJO
She’s only five years old, but Filipino-Indian powerlifter Daani Agnihotri – a self-confessed fan of weightlifting queen Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo – has already made heads turn.
Her latest conquest belied her lean-framed size.
In the recent 2025 Luzon Equipped Powerlifting Championships in Las Piñas City, she collected one gold and three silvers in the U31 kilogram developmental category.
And she’s just starting to learn the rudiments of the sport.
“I love powerlifting and weightlifting [and] I still have no words to describe the feeling of holding powerlifting medals just for a short period of time,” said the amiable kinder student of Sto. Nino Parochial School.
“It’s never just been a solo journey for me to get where I am, I am incredibly grateful for each and every person who has been there with me and the journey does not stop here,” she added.
Since she fell in love to the sport of powerlifting in September last year, Agnihotri has been training regularly with Diaz-Naranjo – the country’s first ever Olympic gold winner – as her source of inspiration.
Diaz achieved her historic lift at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
While most kids of her age have already a collection of dolls of various colors, Agnihotri, on the other hand, seems dead serious on her dream – that is to be like her idol.
At her tender age, she’s already dreaming to represent the country in future big events.
“I hope I can represent the country in my future competitions, so I can bring honor and glory, but for now, I’ll work on my dreams,” added Daani.
