The Sports Ministry has approved the appointment of Avinash Pandu of Mauritius as Director of High Performance (HPD) for weightlifting till the Paris Olympics. He has become the first person to be appointed to the post in this game.

His appointment was recommended by the Indian Sports Authority (SAI) along with foreign coach selection along with officials of Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF). SAI has said that their annual salary is going to be around Rs 40.50 lakh ($54,000).  The purpose of his appointment is to enhance the ability of the players and create a strong coaching structure. Pandu, 46, who lives in South Africa, has more than two decades of coaching experience in South Africa and Indonesia.

As a HPD, Pandu has played a key role in winning medals for two Indonesian weightlifters at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Pandu has told Cape Town that he is excited to take over as India's first HPD for weightlifting. Pandu has said that he is confident that I will try to do well. I am going to try to give my best among the youth and junior classes to help develop talent recognition and performance.

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