Top Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was not at her best due to a wrist injury but still won a silver medal with a total lift of 200kg at the World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia. The Tokyo Olympic silver medallist, competing in the 49kg category, managed a lift of 87kg in the snatch on Tuesday (December 7) night and had a best effort of 113kg in the ‘clean and jerk’.
The Indian finished behind China’s Jiang Huihua, who won gold with a total effort of 206kg (93kg+113kg), while her compatriot and Tokyo Olympic champion Hou Zhihua settled for bronze in 198kg (89kg+109kg). Won. “We were not taking any pressure for this event. This is the weight Mira lifts regularly. From now on we will start increasing the weights and improving.”
Chanu, the 2017 world champion, had injured her wrist during a training session in September. He also participated in the National Games in October with an injury. “We couldn’t do much (about the injury) as we didn’t want to miss the World Championships. Now we will focus on his wrist as we have plenty of time for the next event.”
While the 11-lifter field was highly competitive, most lifters refrained from pulling themselves. Zihua also dropped her final clean and jerk attempt to settle for the bronze medal. Chanu, competing in her first international tournament after winning the Commonwealth Games gold, had a disappointing snatch season. He started with a lift of 84 kg but his second attempt of 87 kg was deemed unsuccessful.
As expected, Chanu did not go for the much-anticipated 90 kg lift. In her final attempt, the 28-year-old, whose wrists were bandaged, wobbled a bit but was able to hoist the 87kg barbell, which is a kilogram less than her personal best in the category.
Fifth after the snatch section, Chanu set the highest clean and jerk entry weight, but her first attempt at 111kg was deemed a no lift as her left elbow wobbled slightly. The Indian camp challenged the decision but the judges upheld it.
Although, Chanu, the world record holder in the categoryIn her last two attempts at 111kg and 113kg, she managed to clinch the overall clean and jerk silver. He also took silver in the snatch category. This is Manipuri’s second world medal, having won gold in 2017.
Congratulations! @mirabai_chanu
On winning the silver medal at the Weightlifting World Championships! With a total lift of 200kg (87kg snatch + 113kg clean & jerk), Mirabai has made India proud yet again! pic.twitter.com/uirJUSqI1y— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) December 7, 2022
Separate medals are awarded for the snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift at the continental and world championships. However, only one medal is given for the total lift in the Olympics. India has four more lifters. S Bindiarani Devi (59kg), Chanambam Rishikant Singh (61kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg) and Gurdeep Singh (+109kg) will compete in their respective categories.
The 2022 World Championships is the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where weightlifting events will be reduced from 14 to 10 at the Tokyo Games. However, this is an additional event and not mandatory.
Under the 2024 Olympic qualification rule, a weightlifter has to compulsorily compete at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 World Cup. Apart from the above, the lifter also has to participate in the following three events – 2022 World Championships, 2023 Continental Championships, 2023 Grand Prix I, 2023 Grand Prix II and 2024 Continental Championships.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will publish the Olympic Qualification Rating (OQR) of each Olympic weight class at the end of the qualification period. The best three performances of a lifter in the qualifying events will be taken into account for the final evaluation.
(With PTI inputs)