Asiad medal on mind, Mirabai to not lift at Worlds

New Delhi, August 29

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Mirabai Chanu will not heave the barbell at the World Championships next week but in order to be eligible for the Paris Games, the star Indian lifter will mark her attendance at the compulsory Olympics qualifying event by completing the necessary formalities.

The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, who competes in the 49kg weight class, has decided to prioritise the Asian Games, being held less than 20 days after the Worlds, instead as a medal in the continental event is the only silverware missing from her trophy cabinet.

“There is very less time between the Asian Games and the World Championships. Since there is compulsory participation at the Worlds, we have decided that Mirabai will travel to Riyadh and only give the body weight,” head coach Vijay Sharma said. “She will complete all the mandatory protocols like giving the dope test if required. But she will not lift any weight. She is only going there to participate,” he added.

Having won the World Championships in 2017, ideally Chanu would have skipped the event this year but under the 2024 Olympics qualification rules, a lifter must compete in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup.

As per the International Weightlifting Federation rulebook, a lifter doesn’t have to complete a lift but only needs to attend the weigh-in to mark his/her presence at the Worlds.

The global event is scheduled from September 4 in Riyadh while the Asian Games in Hangzhou begin on September 23. The short turnover between the two events makes it difficult for lifters to manage their weight and peak at both the events.

Chanu has registered an entry weight of 60kg at the World Championships, based on which she has been placed in Group D of the competition. The lifters who register the highest entry weight are placed in Group A.

“We are aiming to cross the 90kg mark (in snatch) at the Asian Games. It’s been a while that we have been trying to get over that line. We have been focussing on Mira’s snatch here in training,” Sharma said.