Indian powerlifter Keyaa Banerji is the new sports and internet sensation. Why? She produced an astonishing lift at the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior and Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships.
She claimed the silver medal after lifting a massive 140kg, which was more than three times her body weight. Her impressive lift quickly drew attention online most of them celebrating her exceptional achievement.
However, her success has been marred by an unwanted and disturbing experience away from the competition arena. In the end, she took to Instagram Stories to reveal the darker side of social media that she landed in after gaining sudden spotlight.
Viral sensation turned into online horror for powerlifter
Keyaa posted a series of Instagram stories where she spoke about facing online harassment, impersonation and the misuse of artificial intelligence to create images using her face and body. Such experiences have been particularly difficult because of her relatively private presence on social media.
Banerji informed through her stories that she used to have a private account on social media with about 300 followers. However, since AI posters and images of herself started circulating on social media, Instagram suspended her account, considering hers a fake one.
This intrusion into her privacy on social media compelled Keyaa to make a public account where she can post authentic content, without worrying about morphed images doing the rounds all over the internet. However, the powerlifter made it clear that she is still not comfortable with this new setup since she has been a private person so far in her life.
‘Want a space where I can exist as a girl’
Keyaa Banerji has formed a separate account on Instagram to avoid her fans from various unauthentic accounts with fake images. She conveyed it clearly she wants to maintain her image as a powerlifter instead of being an athlete who chases the count of likes and followers.
But who is Keyaa Banerji?
Keyaa Banerji is an Indian powerlifter competing in the Junior Women’s 47kg division. In South Africa, she delivered a performance of around 280kg total. In that competition, her best lifts comprised a 90kg squat, a 50kg bench press, and a 140kg deadlift.
Although she finished fifth overall in the 47kg junior competition, the deadlift proved to be her standout event. Her 140kg effort was enough to secure second place in the discipline.
France’s Ines Herbaux topped the deadlift standings with 165kg, while Ireland’s Blathnaid O’Dwyer also managed 140kg. Banerji finished ahead of O’Dwyer to take the silver medal.
At the 2025 National Championship, Banerji recorded an 82.5kg squat, a 47.5kg bench press and a 127.5kg deadlift, taking her total to 257.5kg. She then raised those numbers at the 2026 National Championship, lifting 95kg in the squat, 52.5kg in the bench press and 140kg in the deadlift, finishing with a 287.5kg total.
All you need to know about the latest competition
Banerji was not the only Indian athlete to make an impact in South Africa. Madhura Kar emerged as one of the country’s standout performers at the championships, producing a four-gold-medal performance in the Sub-Junior Women’s 52kg category.
The powerlifter, who weighed 49.35kg, lifted 107.5kg in the squat, 60kg in the bench press and 125kg in the deadlift. Her combined total of 292.5kg helped her secure gold across all four disciplines.
A Class XII student from Jalpaiguri, Kar had already made her mark at the domestic level by winning the National Powerlifting Championship in 2024. Then she successfully defended the title in 2025. Additionally, she also won the National Bench Press Championship in Faridabad earlier in 2026.
