Shillong, June 8: Meghalaya athlete Sandeep Sharma secured a gold medal for India at the Kettlebell World Championship 2026, held in Chisinau, Moldova, from June 4 to 7, producing a career-best performance in one of the sport’s toughest disciplines.
Competing in the 24kg Snatch Half Marathon event in the 74kg to 87kg+ bodyweight category, Sharma completed an impressive 300 repetitions in 30 minutes to clinch the top spot. The feat marked a significant improvement on his previous personal best of 228 repetitions, which he had recorded at the World Championship in Italy last year.
The Snatch Half Marathon is regarded as one of the most gruelling events in kettlebell sport, requiring athletes to continuously lift a kettlebell for 30 minutes without setting it down.
The victory earned Sharma his maiden World Championship gold and added to an already impressive international record. He had previously claimed bronze medals at the World Championships in Hungary in 2023 and Poland in 2024, while finishing fourth in Italy in 2025.
