Noa Eappen & Kasha Sachdev both trained by Nicholai Sachdev, have won gold and set world records at the PRO League World Championship in Full Powerlifting, Squat, Bench, Deadlift & Push Pull. They
are all geared up to represent India at The World Powerlifting Congress in Kyrgyzstan in June
2023.
Despite traditionally being a male-dominated sport, powerlifting is experiencing a significant shift
as more women and young girls discover the value of strength and embrace the sport.
Women Fitness India gets into an in-depth conversation with Noa and Kasha on Powerlifting, Fitness, and Diets!
Ms. Namita Nayyar
Congratulations! Noa Sara Eappen and Kasha Nia Sachdev for the grand achievement of winning gold medals in all categories at the PRO League World Championship held in Bangalore from 10th to 12th May 2023. Can you briefly explain the events that motivated you to pursue this sport?
Ms. Noa Eappen – I started powerlifting at age 10 when my fitness enthusiast mom, Arshiya Fakih dragged me to the gym. There I met my schoolmate Kasha Nia Sachdev, who was then 12 years old, and her dad, Nicholai Sachdev, who were both powerlifters. I was truly inspired, intrigued, and impressed by what they did. Nicholai saw my interest and soon took me under his wing. Within a short span of time, he realized I was stronger than most girls my age and decided to make me compete. There has been no turning back since then.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – Well, I started training in the gym about eight years ago, mostly in order to exercise post-corrective surgery to treat my condition of knock-knees. Despite being a happy and well-adjusted child, I was rather conscious of my shape as well as my weight and lacked confidence in myself and what I could and couldn’t do. After my surgery, I had begun working out at the gym as part of my rehabilitation and physiotherapy under the counsel of my dad, a powerlifter himself, Nicholai Sachdev; this transitioned into powerlifting once I showed interest in the sport.
FULL INTERVIEW ON THE NEXT PAGE!
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President of womenfitness.org, and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2023 Women Fitness Org
Ms. Namita Nayyar
What is your daily fitness routine (cardio, strength, flexibility training) and how long does it last?
Ms. Noa Eappen – I do powerlifting 4-5 times a week for 3 hours, and cardio for an hour on the other days. I do a lot of stretching prior to and post-lifting. I do accessory work to strengthen smaller muscle groups that help me with my main big movements of Deadlifting, squats, and bench presses.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – My daily fitness regime consists mostly of an hour or so of cardio, which I like to do as a brisk, inclined walk on the treadmill or a paced jog outdoors (which is often hard with Bombay’s mercurial temperatures), and an intense three hours lifting session; this comprises of a warm-up and cooldown, muscle-group specific hypertrophy, and all three central powerlifting movements, the squat, the deadlift, and the bench press. I usually do cardio every day, whilst training five to six times a week.
Ms. Namita Nayyar
Both of you, have displayed your strength and skills in five categories at the PRO League World Championship – Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Push-Pull & Full Powerlifting. Can you explain to others about these terms to better understand the sport?
Noa & Kasha – Having just competed at the PRO League World Championship, the memories of all my lifts are still fresh in my mind. I took part in the Squat, Bench press, Deadlift, Push-Pull & Full Powerlifting events. The Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift are the three fundamental powerlifting movements, which are also compound movements. The Deadlifts involve lifting weights from the floor where the body is locked out and completely erect. It involves all our muscle groups to shift the weight. Similarly, in the squat, we put the bar on the back and load it with weight and squat up and down. The squat also involves all the body muscles including the hamstring, glutes, quads, and the back. The bench press is similar to the deadlift and the squat involves moving the weight from the top to the chest and reversing it back to a lockout.
The technicalities for the three lifts are important but they are quite intricate so I will not get into the finer details, but basically, these three movements are what powerlifting consists of. The Push – Pull is basically the sum aggregate total of the push which is the bench press and pull which is the deadlift. The total amount of weight accumulated in both lifts will be the final push-pull total. Whilst the full powerlifting event, includes the sum total of all three movements which is the squat, the bench, and the deadlift, and the competition is conducted in that order where we initiate with a squat.
You get three attempts where you need to secure one attempt in the squat. Similarly, in the bench and the deadlift, you get three attempts and you have to secure one in each of the movements. The sum aggregate total of the three movements will be your final total while competing in a weight class and age group. Powerlifting is these three movements and the maximum about of weight you can shift.
Ms. Namita Nayyar
What skills go into the making of a winner in any competitive sport? Please feel free to share any top 5.
Ms. Noa Eappen –
1. Most important is to believe in yourself. Like most sports, powerlifting is also a lot about your mind. You can only lift what you can believe is possible. It requires intense self-belief, so you can push yourself to achieve more.
2. Hard work and dedication.
3. Perseverance and grit.
4. Good habits like eating nutritional food, sleeping early & self-preservation.
5. Ambition & desire to be the best and the hunger to do better.
6. Faith, destiny, or Good luck- Many people work hard but don’t become winners. One needs a bit of this too, to stay on top of things!
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – Quite frankly, a myriad of skills and qualities flashed through my mind considering the five attributes of a sports champion, but the ones I hold above all others are detailed here:
Firstly, compromise. You will have to compromise on so much, your social life, your sleep, your work even, because your sport comes first, and once you develop the right attitude, you’ll be happy to miss out on some of those plans with your friends, and those extra few hours of sleep on a Sunday morning.
Secondly, commitment, you have to be fully committed to your sport, because only then will you turn your goals into reality and achieve and strive to be your very best. Nothing but sheer devotion will pull you through the mental and physical struggles of competitive sports. Thirdly, passion, as love for your sport will be a driving force in your everyday life. Next, ambition, allows you to develop a personality and have a strong work ethic, in order to win.
Lastly, sportsmanship. It’s important to be gracious if you don’t win, to acknowledge your competitors’ hard work, and to be sure to give them a run for their money the next time around.
Ms. Namita Nayyar
Explain Your family’s contribution to pursuing sports as a career.
Ms. Noa Eappen – I’m only 13 years old. My family and I are still exploring and understanding my sports career. I initially had resistance from my grandparents, as they were concerned about how the sport would affect my growth, but with time they realized how much it was benefiting me, and gradually came on board. My mom & dad are 100% supportive of it. My mom manages everything outside of training from balancing my school and exercise regime, to my nutrition. It’s an intense sport and I’m usually really tired when I get home, so my mom needs to juggle many things to maintain the balance.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – My family has always been the backbone of my success. My dad, Nicholai Sachdev, brought me into the gym after doing copious amounts of research on the same and took hours out of his time to carefully train me, and with progressive overload and consistent training, I got stronger and my love for powerlifting grew. He faced backlash from multiple crowds but stayed confident in his wise decision, backed invariably by my mother, Kavita Sachdev, who has kept up with my multifarious diets and health regimes. Since then, my father has woken up at unearthly hours in the morning to train me, flown and driven me out to workshops, and been perpetually by my side in every way. They both are the reason I am here right now, and I will be forever grateful.
Ms. Namita Nayyar
Kasha Nia Sachdev, your journey began at the age of eight, following corrective surgery to treat severe knock-knees. Can you explain how you and your family cope with health issues and overcome them to become a powerlifter?
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – When I was around eight years old, my condition of Genu Valgum, more commonly known as ‘knock knees’ had emerged and I had been put through two corrective surgeries for the aforementioned condition. Both physiotherapy and occupational therapy had been medically prescribed to me for rehabilitation, but my father, after doing lots of research on the effects of lifting on children, and only finding positive ones, thought it a better idea to train me in the gym instead. I first started out with simple movements, slowly progressing onto the three fundamental powerlifting movements, the bench press, the squat, and the deadlift, whilst beginning a progressive overload to increase my strength. This, over the course of a few years, fixed my knees which had a huge impact on my demeanor and confidence.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Kasha, it is no doubt a proud moment for our country that you will be representing India in the European World Powerlifting Congress championship. Throw some light on the same.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev
I am beyond appreciative of the fact that I have the opportunity to compete and represent India in the European World Powerlifting Congress championship, it’s been my dream since the minute I started lifting competitively. It’s unbelievable to fathom that I have this platform, and it’s mine to excel on. I hope to break a few more world records, and hopefully come out triumphant with a few more golds on my roster!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Noa plans to represent India for the first time internationally at the World Powerlifting Congress from the 21st to the 25th of June 2023 in Kyrgyzstan. First and foremost planning and preparation is key essential share some input about the standards for selection and how you prepare for it.
Ms. Noa Eappen
In order to be selected for Kyrgyzstan, you need to have won National competitions, which I had. I had also broken a few world records, so the selection was quick. As for preparation, I have been training for this competition for over three years now. It got canceled due to covid in 2021, and I was extremely disappointed. I have been training and waiting for this moment since then. I train 3-4 hours a day, and 4-5 days a week. Other than this I do cardio and have a strict nutrition program. The last year has been rigorous in terms of managing school and training. I wake up at 5 am and train with Nicholai.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Key to winning lies in a healthy diet & nutrition. What kind of diet do you follow daily? Is your nutrition carefully monitored and how? Also, share some input on supplements to make up for wear and tear.
Ms. Noa Eappen – Yes, I agree, nutrition is a key part of winning and more importantly staying fit for longevity. I follow a high protein low carb diet. We don’t completely remove any food group, but we do portion control. My nutrition is very carefully monitored and managed by my mother. She completely mans the diet. In terms of supplements, I take Calcium, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D to compensate for all the training wear and tear and boost what’s required.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – My diet changes quite often, depending on where I’d like my weight to lie, but the key components stay more or less the same. I try to eat thirty or so grams of protein in every meal and accompany this with quick–digesting carbohydrates, and some unsaturated fats. I enjoy various fruits and vegetables too, which are great sources of vitamins and minerals. I monitor my diet to a good extent, but I also think it’s important to honor cravings and keep a small degree of balance in your diet.
Ms. Namita Nayyar
Any injuries you have come across and how did you recover?
Ms. Noa Eappen – I haven’t had any injuries so far thanks to Nicholai Sachdev, my coach and friend. He watches over me every minute. He supervises my big lifts very closely. I do not do any major movements like heavy deadlifts and squats without him. He micro-loads the bar only when there is no form breakdown, so I have been fortunate and grateful to have had no major injuries so far. For minor pulls and sprains, I rest, ice, and do physio to recover.
Kasha Sachdev – Thankfully, I have yet to meet with a powerlifting-related injury; despite contrary belief, powerlifting can be a rather safe sport (surely as safe as crossing the road or drinking water while laying down) if your form is proper, the weight overload is progressive, and you get sufficient rest, and nutritious food
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Do you have rest days, how do you spend them? Also, what are your hobbies?
Ms. Noa Eappen – I usually rest 2 days a week, but I do cardio on those days. Most of the time I am exhausted so I like to vegetate and be at home. I like to chat with my friends on the phone, cause I don’t always have the energy to go out. I love to watch TV shows and listen to music. My hobbies include singing and playing the guitar. I really like to spend time with my family, so sometimes I go over to my grandparents’ place and hang with my extended family which is pretty big and a lot of fun.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – I do have one or two rest days every week, which I like to spend keeping up with school work and studying, listening to music, reading, and hanging out with my friends. I really enjoy crocheting and gardening too, especially while simultaneously watching a few episodes of my favorite shows!
Ms. Namita Nayyar
How do you balance your education with sports?
Ms. Noa Eappen – It’s hard. It takes a lot out of me, but I’m beginning to get the hang of it. As they say, practice makes perfect, so I keep trying to understand and improvise as I go along.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – To be quite honest, I struggle on and off with balancing school and powerlifting. Being in the ninth grade, and preparing for the IGCSE examination, I have a multitude of tasks and studying to do, which takes plenty of time. What I do right now, having to juggle my sport and school, is taking it a day at a time; I complete assignments as they come, and go into the gym with a fresh mind and attitude, which seems to be working great for me.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Message for other girls and females pursuing sports?
Ms. Noa Eappen – Don’t let conventional thought or self-doubt stop you from pursuing what you want. I’m perusing a sport that is highly male-dominated and not something most girls take up, but that makes it even more rewarding. If you believe you can do it, you can.
Ms. Kasha Sachdev – To all the women out there, you possess more power than you know, the power that can be directed towards anything you put your mind towards, whether that be sports or anything else. In a world where you may be told that your place is the sidelines or footnote, you have the chance to take things into your hands and push on hard at your passion, and make a change in your own life and perhaps even other young women.
Social Media Handles:
Noa Eappen:https://www.instagram.com/noacanlift/
Kasha Sachdev: https://www.instagram.com/kasha_nia_sachdev/
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President of Women Fitness