Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023: Mirabai Chanu returns for Olympic qualifiers - full squad
Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women’s 49kg division. CWG champions Jeremy Lalrinnunga and Achinta Sheuli also in the six-member Indian team.
Weightlifting
Tokyo 2020 medallist Mirabai Chanu will compete in her first international tournament of the year by leading a six-member Indian contingent at the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 in Jinju, South Korea, from May 3 to 13.
For Indian weightlifters, the continental championship will be the second in the series of qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The weightlifters competing in these qualifying events will be able to improve their Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) based on their total results (snatch + clean and jerk).
The list of qualified athletes will be published by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after the qualification period for the Paris Olympics ends on April 28, 2024.
Mirabai Chanu last competed at the World Weightlifting Championships 2022 in Colombia in December and won a silver medal in the women’s 49kg division. Chanu, however, underwent a five-month rehabilitation programme at NIS Patiala to nurse her shoulder and back injuries. She will continue to compete in the 49kg category.
Though Mirabai Chanu has an Olympic silver and gold medals at the world championships and Commonwealth Games, her best performance at the continental level has been bronze at the 2020 Asian Championships in Tashkent.
Jeremy Lalrinnunga (men’s 67kg) and Achinta Sheuli (men’s 73kg) will also be returning from injuries for the Asian championships. Lalrinnunga hasn’t been in competitive action since pulling his lower back and thigh muscles during his gold medal-winning performance at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Sheuli, meanwhile, suffered from a hamstring pull just before the start of his competition at the world weightlifting championships in December. He too is a Commonwealth Games champion in the 73kg division.
Bindyarani Devi, who won silver in women’s 55kg at the Commonwealth Games 2022, will continue to compete in her pet category.
The previous edition of the Asian Weightlifting Championships was held last year in Manama, Bahrain. There, Harshada Garud, competing in women’s 45kg, won a bronze. It was India’s only medal in the competition.
Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023: India squad
Women: Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Bindyarani Devi (55kg)
Men: Shubham Todkar (61kg), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg), Narayana Ajith (73kg)