Mirabai will not lift weights in World Championship, will only do weights for Olympic qualification

Eyeing a medal at the Asian Games, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu will skip the barbell at next week’s World Championships and will go to Paris to complete the formalities for her participation. The World Championships, a mandatory qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics, begin in Riyadh on September 4, while the Asian Games begin less than 20 days later in Hangzhou, China, on September 23. There is such a short period of time between these two events that it will be difficult for lifters to maintain their weight and peak in both tournaments.

But he decided to give priority to the Asian Games as that was the only thing lacking in his medals tally. Mirabai had won the World Championship in 2017, so she could have opted out, but the 2024 Olympic Qualification Rule mandates a weightlifter to compete in the 2023 World Championship and the 2024 World Cup. Chief coach Vijay Sharma told PTI, “There is very little time between the Asian Games and the World Championship. It is mandatory to participate in the World Championship so we decided that Mirabai will only go to Riyadh and get her weight done. “She will complete all mandatory ‘protocols’ like dope test (if required),” he added.

But she won’t lift any weight. She is going there just to participate. According to International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rules, a weightlifter need not compete to make his presence felt at the World Championships, but he has to show his presence by lifting weights. Mirabai competes in the 49kg weight category and has registered for the World Championship in just 60kg. Based on this, they have been placed in Group D of the competition. Depending on the higher weight a lifter registers for, they are placed in Group A, Group B, etc. Mirabai, on the other hand, is only short of an Asian Games medal in her medals tally and the Manipur athlete has repeatedly said that she wants to win it at this stage. However, winning a medal at the Asian Games will not be that easy as weightlifting powerhouses like China, Korea and Thailand will compete in the continental competition.

“We are targeting to cross 90kg (in snatch) in the Asian Games. We have been trying to go above this weight for a long time. We are focusing on Mira’s snatch here in training. He added, “We have to take Mira’s body into account as well. He is getting older and his chances of getting injured increase with age. That’s why we have to be careful with his workload. Sharma said, “He is in a good condition at the moment. Small bruises keep happening but nothing serious.

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