Weightlifting: Mirabai won despite wrist injury, won silver medal in World Championship
Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was unable to perform at her best due to a wrist injury but managed to win a silver medal with a total lift of 200kg at the World Championships here. Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Chanu, competing in the 49kg category, lifted 87kg in snatch and 113kg in clean and jerk on Tuesday night. Jiang Huihua of China won the gold medal with a total lift of 206 kg. He lifted 93 kg in snatch and 113 kg in clean and jerk.Her compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Hou Zhihua won the bronze medal with a total lift of 198 kg (89 and 109 kg).
India’s head coach Vijay Sharma told PTI, “We were not taking any pressure for this competition. Meera lifts this much weight regularly. Now we will start increasing the weight and improving. ” Chanu, winner of the World Championship in 2017, had injured her wrist during a training session in September. Despite the injury, he participated in the National Games in October. Vijay Sharma said, “We could not do much about the injury as we did not want to be ruled out of the World Championship. Now we will focus on her wrists as we have a lot of time before the next competition.” Chanu’s category saw stiff competition with 11 lifters in attendance but most of the lifters decided not to push too hard. Zhihua even missed her last attempt in the clean and jerk and settled for a bronze medal.
Chanu, competing in her first international tournament after her Commonwealth Games gold medal, opened with a lift of 84kg in snatch. He lifted 87 kg in his second attempt but it was not considered valid. He successfully lifted 87 kg in his third attempt. Chanu, who was ranked fifth after snatch, tried to lift 111 kg in her first attempt in clean and jerk, which was the highest among all the competitors. Chanu’s first attempt was called a ‘no lift’ which India challenged but the judges upheld the decision. Chanu, the world record holder in clean and jerk, lifted 111 and 113 kg in her next two attempts. This is Manipur’s Chanu’s second medal in the World Championship. He won the gold medal in 2017.
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Four more Indian lifters S Bindiya Rani Devi (59kg), C Rishikant Singh (61kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg) and Gurdeep Singh (+109kg) are also competing in the World Championships. World Champions 2022 is the first qualifying event for the Paris Olympics 2024. Weightlifting will have just 10 events in Paris, compared to 14 in the Tokyo Games. As per the Olympic 2024 qualification rules, it is mandatory for weightlifters to compete in the 2023 World Championships and 2024 World Cup. Apart from this, the lifter will have to compete in three events from the 2022 World Championships, 2023 Continental Championships, 2023 Grand Prix One, 2023 Grand Prix Two and 2024 Continental Championships. The final assessment will be based on the best three performances of the lifter in the qualifying event.
