{"id":28540,"date":"2026-09-05T12:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=28540"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:16:00","slug":"21-year-old-powerlifter-keyaa-banerji-hits-back-at-internet-trolls-souring-her-silver-winning-deadlift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=28540","title":{"rendered":"21-year-old powerlifter Keyaa Banerji hits back at Internet trolls souring her silver-winning deadlift"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"Powerlifter
Powerlifter Keyaa Banerji with her silver medal. Photo courtesy: Stack Umbrella<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At just 21, Indian powerlifter Keyaa Banerji has burst onto the sports scene with a 140kg deadlift and a silver medal at the IPF Sub-Junior & Junior World Powerlifting 2026 in Sun City, South Africa. But for the young woman, whose slim build belies her strength, this triumph has been followed by a baffling barrage of sexual harassment online.<\/p>\n

As a result of the online trolling, Keyaa has been forced to write an Instagram post today, detailing the horrible ordeal she has been facing, taking the focus away from her very recent remarkable victory.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Sports article on the website Stack Umbrella<\/a> says about her win: \u201cWhat makes this [silver medal-winning performance] even more striking is that Keyaa Banerji weighed just 45.70kg on the day she lifted that bar. That is more than three times her own body weight, on a world championship stage, against some of the best young powerlifters in the world. The Keyaa Banerji Powerlifting achievement came in the Junior Women\u2019s 47kg category, and it is the kind of performance that deserves far more attention than it typically gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Attention she is getting for the right reasons, indeed, but from far too many of the wrong people who prowl the Internet.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The euphoria of a stunning performance has given way to distress for young Keyaa, who has a Bengali surname but is reportedly a resident of Haryana, the northern Indian state that is famous for its athletic women.<\/p>\n

Her Instagram post today says: \u201cHi! I\u2019d be really grateful if you could pause and read (heart emoji).<\/p>\n

\u201cI recently won a deadlift silver medal at IPF Jr Worlds for India and while I appreciate the support and recognition, as an Indian female athlete, I\u2019ve also had to deal with:<\/p>\n

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  • sexual harassment online;<\/li>\n
  • accounts impersonating me;<\/li>\n
  • disturbing conversations surrounding my ethnicity, ancestry and caste?<\/li>\n
  • And the Worst \u2013 thousands of AI generated images of me with pictures of my body and face morphed and edited in very disturbing ways \u2013 it\u2019s quite unnerving to be waking up every day to my feed (and the feeds of every single person I know) flooded with these fake AI pictures (sic)<\/em>.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    A distraught Keyaa says in today\u2019s post that Instagram suspended her previous account, which was a private account with 300 followers, and, therefore, she has made a new one \u2014 and though she is a \u201cprivate person\u201d, she has made this a public account.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI didn\u2019t want to make it public but I\u2019m left with no choice if I want to have a say in a narrative about my own sport and accomplishment and stand up for myself without getting my account suspended again!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

    Keyaa\u2019s post tells readers that she \u201creally despised\u201d seeing how Artificial Intelligence was being used to invade her privacy.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \u201cThe purpose of my sport in my life is just to challenge myself in a fun way and I\u2019m grateful to be competing at the level that I am. I never wanted to see myself everywhere like this. In fact, I really despised all these AI posters popping up without my consent,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

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    Meet Keyaa Kunal Banerji,
    a 21-year-old from Haryana who just deadlifted more than 3x her own bodyweight on a world stage.<\/p>\n

    At the 2026 IPF World Sub-Junior and Junior Classic Powerlifting Championships in Sun City, South Africa, Keyaa stepped up weighing 45.70kg and pulled\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/Tejn9spILX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/oDugZnEBZH<\/a><\/p>\n

    \u2014 Vaibhav Bodana (@VaibhavSpace) September 3, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

    Past performances by Keyaa Banerji<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Outlining Keyaa\u2019s past performances, a Hindustan Times<\/a><\/em> report says: \u201cAt 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. <\/p>\n

    \u201cShe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

    An Outlook<\/a><\/em> report on the South Africa event says: \u201c[Keyaa] finished with a 280kg total. That included a 90kg squat, a 50kg bench press and the 140kg deadlift that brought her silver. In the overall 47kg junior standings, she placed fifth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n