There’s an out-of-rhythm thump-thump-thump beat that punctuates the quiet afternoon air at the sprawling Army Sports Institute in Pune’s Koregaon Park. The clank of heavy metal falling on the ground comes from the spacious gym, where about 40-odd weightlifters and their coaches are scattered around the multiple lifting platforms. The Army’s beefiest best are here, clean-and-jerking and snatching barbells loaded with hundreds of kilograms at times, with a grunt here and a command there. In one corner of this cavernous gym, in what feels like another world, are four girls quietly lifting away their own set of weights. The quartet is part of a path-breaking new programme the Army piloted seven months ago — the Girls Sports Company (GSC). “I want to become a champion,” declares 13-year-old Naorem Victoria Devi, who is living her grandfather’s dream by following in the footsteps of world-renowned lifters from Manipur. “It was my grandfather’s wish that I became a weightlifter like Mirabai Chanu, Kunjarani Devi, Sanamacha Chanu, Soniya (Chanu). I am here to fulfill that ambition.” The girls being …