World Weightlifting Championships 2021: In Mirabai Chanu’s absence, focus on Jeremy Lalrinnunga – watch live streaming

The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021, qualifiers for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, will also be held concurrently in Tashkent. Watch live in India!

3 minBy Utathya Nag

Tokyo Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu may have pulled out of the World Weightlifting Championships 2021, to be held from December 7 to 17 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, but India will still have a strong representation in former Youth Olympic champion Jeremy Lalrinnunga.

The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021, which acts as a qualifying event for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, will also be held concurrently in Tashkent. India, being a Commonwealth nation, will be competing in both.

Mirabai Chanu, who won the Tokyo Olympics silver medal in women’s 49kg, decided to withdraw from the events to devote more time to mastering a new snatch technique ahead of the Asian Games 2022.

Jhilli Dalabehera has been slotted in the former world champion’s place for the Tashkent meet.

In Mirabai Chanu’s absence 2018 Youth Olympics gold medallist Jeremy Lalrinnunga will be the most recognisable face in a 19-member India team for the World Weightlifting Championships 2021.

Youngster Achinta Sheuli, who won silver at the junior world championship earlier this year, will also be competing.

National coach Vijay Sharma, a former Dronacharya awardee, will be in charge of the team in Tashkent.

Indian team for World Weightlifting Championships 2021 and Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2021

Men: Sanket Sargar (55kg), Guru Raja (61kg), Jeremy Lalrinnunga (67kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg), Ajay Singh (81kg), Vikas Thakur (96kg), Jagdish Vishwakarma (96kg), Lovepreet Singh (109kg), Gurdeep Singh (+109kg)

Women: Jhili Dalabehera (49kg), S. Bindyarani Devi (55kg), Popy Hazarika (59kg), Komal Khan (64kg), Harjinder Kaur (71kg), Lalchhanhimi (71kg), Punam Yadav (76kg), R. Arockiya Alish (76kg), Anuradha Pavunraj (87kg), Purnima Pandey (+87kg)

To prevent the spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the Uzbek government had enforced travel restrictions which created doubts over the World Weightlifting Championships 2021 and the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships.

The event, however, wasn’t cancelled after the authorities made exemptions for the weightlifters. A number of athletes, including the Chinese team, though, have pulled out owing to COVID concerns.

World Weightlifting Championships 2021 schedule for Indian weightlifters and live start times

All timings are in India Standard Time (IST)

Men’s 55kg – December 7, 2:30 PM IST onwards

Women’s 49kg – December 8, 1:30 PM IST onwards

Men’s 61kg – December 9, 11:00 AM IST onwards

Women’s 55kg - December 9, 1:30 PM IST onwards

Men’s 67kg - December 9, 11:00 AM IST onwards and December 10, 1:30 PM IST onwards

Men’s 73kg – December 10, 11:00 AM IST onwards

Women’s 59kg – December 11, 11:00 AM IST onwards

Women’s 64kg – December 12, 11:30 AM IST onwards

Women’s 71kg – December 13, 9:00 AM IST onwards

Men’s 96kg – December 13, 10:00 PM IST onwards and December 14, 9:00 AM IST onwards

Women’s 76kg - December 14, 11:30 AM IST onwards

Women’s 87kg – December 16, 11:00 AM IST onwards

Women’s +87kg – December 16, 11:00 AM IST onwards and December 17, 1:30 PM IST onwards

Men’s 109kg - December 16, 1:30 PM IST onwards

Men’s +109kg – December 17, 8:30 AM IST onwards

Where to watch World Weightlifting Championships 2021 live in India?

Live streaming of the World Weightlifting Championships 2021 live will be available on the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) official Facebook page.

There will be no live telecast of the championships in India.