Mirabai Chanu to miss Asian Weightlifting Championships 2024 in February
The Indian weightlifter is still recovering from the hip injury she sustained at the Asian Games in October. She is eyeing a return at the 2024 World Cup in April.
Weightlifting
Indian ace Mirabai Chanu will miss the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2024, scheduled in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from February 3 to 24 next year, as she is still recovering from the hip injury she sustained during the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October.
A former world champion and silver medal winner from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Mirabai Chanu appeared for the weigh-in but didn’t lift at the IWF Grand Prix II 2023, which is currently underway in Doha. The Indian weightlifter was expected to return at the continental in championships in Tashkent but that has been put off.
“Instead, I will participate in the World Cup,” Mirabai Chanu told PTI.
The 2024 World Cup, to be held in Thailand in April next year, is a mandatory event for Paris 2024 Olympics qualification.
According to the rules, it is compulsory for weightlifters to attend the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships and the 2024 World Cup to be eligible to compete at the Paris 2024 Summer Games.
Chanu attended the weigh-in at the 2023 World Championships held in Riyadh in September to mark her attendance for the meet. She, however, didn’t lift there to stay fit for the Asian Games.
Barring the two compulsory tournaments, a lifter also has to participate in at least three of the following events — the 2022 World Championships, the 2023 Continental Championships, the 2023 Grand Prix 1, the 2023 Grand Prix II and the 2024 Continental Championships — to stay eligible for Paris 2024.
Mirabai Chanu did compete at the 2022 World Championships and 2023 Asian Championships and has marked her attendance at the 2023 Grand Prix II. So, turning up for the 2024 World Cup weightlifting meet in Phuket will make her eligible to be selected for Paris 2024.
Missing the 2024 Asian Championships shouldn’t realistically hurt the Indian weightlifter’s chances of securing a Paris 2024 quota either. Mirabai, who competes in the women’s 49kg, is ranked second in the Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) for her division. The top 10 in the OQR list (maximum one per NOC) at the end of the qualification window on April 28 will obtain a Paris 2024 quota for their respective countries.
Mirabai, who is currently undergoing rehab in Patiala, also has plans to travel to the USA in February to work with physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach Dr Aaron Horschig, a former weightlifter.