Jeremy Lalrinnunga endures difficult outing at Asian weightlifting meet

The former Youth Olympics champion finished eighth in the men’s 67kg weight division after two failed attempts in the clean and jerk segment.

2 minBy Naveen Peter

Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga came up short at the Asian Weightlifting Championships and far from the medals in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Monday.

The 18-year-old Jeremy competing in the men’s 67kg category struggled in the clean and jerk and settled for an eighth-place finish with a total lift of 302kg (snatch 139kg + clean and jerk 163kg). His personal best is 306kg, achieved at the International Qatar Cup in 2019.

The reigning weightlifting world champion Chen Lijun of China took the gold with a combined effort of 333kg (153+180) while his compatriot Huang Minhao was second with a total lift of 332kg (155+177). Local hope Adkhamjon Ergashev completed the podium with an effort of 316kg (140+176).

Jeremy Lalrinnunga, the gold medallist from the 2018 Youth Olympics, began his campaign with a clean lift at 135kg in snatch. He struggled at 139kg in the second attempt but managed the weight in his third to finish the snatch segment in fourth place.

The Indian was once again on the money in his opening lift in clean and jerk, and breezed through 163kg in no time. Jeremy, however, couldn’t build on that start as two failed attempts for the 168kg saw him fall down the final order. Jeremy was reportedly struggling with an issue with his knee.

The opening day of the Asian meet saw India’s Olympic hopeful Mirabai Chanu set a world record in clean and jerk en route to her bronze medal finish in the women’s 49kg weight division.

India’s Achinta Sheuli will be in action on Tuesday when the men’s 73kg category gets underway in Tashkent.