Ajit Narayan and Achinta Shuli finish top two in Group B of 73kg at Asian Championship
Jinju. Indian lifters Ajit Narayan and Achinta Sheuli finished first and second respectively in Group B of the men’s 73kg event at the Asian Championships here on Monday. Competing in his first senior international tournament, Ajith lifted a total of 307 kg (139 kg + 168 kg), while Achinta could only manage a total of 305 kg (140 kg + 165 kg). Both these Indian lifters were placed in Group B on the basis of their starting weights. In weightlifting, players with maximum starting weight are placed in Group A and those after that are placed in Group B.
The defending national champion Ajit lifted 135kg and 139kg in his first two snatch attempts but failed in his final attempt of 141kg. He similarly lifted 164 kg and 168 kg with ease before faltering in his final attempt of 171 kg in the clean and jerk. Achinta, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, could manage only three valid lifts in her six attempts. The silver medalist of the Junior World Championships (2021) did a world best of 140kg in snatch in his second attempt. His personal best in this category is 143 kg. He failed attempts at 169 kg and 171 kg after lifting 164 kg in the clean and jerk class. The Indian contingent thus returned from the competition with three silver medals.
Commonwealth Games silver medalist Bindayarani Devi and Youth Olympic champion Jeremy Lalrinnunga were successful in securing medals. Bindayarani won two silver medals in the women’s 55kg category for her overall effort in clean and jerk. Jeremy won a silver medal in the men’s 67 kg snatch event. At continental and world championships, lifters are awarded separate medals for snatch, clean and jerk and total weight. In the Olympics, however, medals are awarded only on the basis of total weight. The current championships are among the qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where there will be 10 weightlifting events as against 14 for the Tokyo Games.
However, it is an additional event and its inclusion in the Olympics is not mandatory. As per the Olympic 2024 qualification rules, it is mandatory for a weightlifter to compete in the 2023 World Championships and 2024 World Cup. Apart from the above two events, lifters will have to compete in three events in the 2022 World Championships, 2023 Continental Championships, 2023 Grand Prix One, 2023 Grand Prix Two and 2024 Continental Championships. The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will release the Olympic qualification ratings in each weight category at the end of the qualification period. The best three lifting efforts in the qualifying events will be considered for the final assessment.
