73-Year-Old Heart Patient Wins 4 Gold Medals 6 Months After Gym

D V Shankar Rao stood beneath a loaded barbell at 73, surrounded by younger athletes who paused to watch. Just over a decade earlier, he had undergone coronary bypass surgery and many would have told him to slow down.

Instead, he became a National Masters Classic Powerlifting Champion, winning four gold medals in squat, bench press, deadlift, and the overall championship title. His journey from a hospital bed to the podium took just six months of training.

For most of his career, Shankar Rao crunched numbers at the State Bank of India in Bhadrachalam, Telangana. He turned down promotions to stay in the community he loved, eventually retiring in 2013.

A year before retirement, doctors diagnosed him with coronary artery disease at age 60. Years of smoking and poor diet had caught up with him, requiring bypass surgery.

Rather than feeling defeated, Shankar Rao saw the surgery as a second chance. He spent his retirement years walking, practicing yoga, and staying active.

Then his friend Swapan Nayak, a forest officer, kept pushing him to join a gym. "I refused every time," Shankar Rao laughs. "I would tell him, 'I have had bypass surgery. Why should I go to a gym?'"

In February 2025, he finally agreed. At the gym, he met coach G V Rami Reddy, who has two decades of experience training seniors and people recovering from health challenges.

Reddy consulted three doctors before starting any training program. One doctor told Shankar Rao something that changed his perspective: "The heart is also a muscle. If the body's muscles become stronger through proper exercise, the heart benefits too."

They started slowly with stretches, mobility exercises, and light movements. Every step was monitored carefully.

What surprised everyone was how quickly the 73-year-old adapted. "My coach noticed that whatever exercise he gave me, I would complete it faster than expected," Shankar Rao says.

Why This Inspires

Shankar Rao's transformation shows that our bodies are more resilient than we often believe. His story challenges the assumption that major surgery means the end of physical achievement.

His family was initially worried, as were his friends. Reddy personally visited his home to explain the precautions they were taking and the positive changes already visible.

Within six months of walking into that gym, Shankar Rao competed in the National Masters Classic Powerlifting Championship. He brought home four gold medals.

Today, he continues training at the same modest gym in Bhadrachalam, where younger athletes still pause to watch him lift. His message is simple: it's never too late to discover what your body can do.