World Weightlifting Championships 2023: Indian weightlifters draw blank

The Indian weightlifting team competing at the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 returned empty-handed after failing to win a medal in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from September 4 to 17.

The Indian contingent for the Riyadh meet included Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu, Commonwealth Games champion Achinta Sheuli, Ajith Narayana, Bindyarani Devi and Shubham Tanaji Todkar. 

Since the World Weightlifting Championships were one of two mandatory qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Mirabai Chanu attended the women’s 49kg weigh-in but did not lift to protect herself from injury ahead of the Asian Games starting next week.

Athletes had to appear in Riyadh to stay eligible to obtain Olympic quotas for their respective national teams even if they didn’t lift in the competition. 

The People’s Republic of China’s Jiang Huihua went on to shatter Mirabai Chanu’s previous world record of 119kg in clean and jerk in the women's 49kg with a 120kg effort. The Chinese weightlifter also achieved a new world record of 215kg in the total lift. She settled for silver in snatch after lifting 95kg.

Medals at the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 were awarded separately in snatch, clean and jerk and total categories. 

Bindyarani Devi, a Commonwealth Games silver medallist, also marked her presence in the women’s 55kg weigh-in but didn’t lift at the world championships.

Achinta Sheuli finished 25th in the men’s 73kg with a modest combined lift of 285kg (130kg snatch + 155kg clean and jerk). The Indian weightlifter was listed in Group D where he finished eighth.

At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham last year, Achinta Sheuli lifted 313kg (143kg+170kg) to win the gold medal in the same weight category.

Also competing in the men’s 73kg was Ajith Narayana, whose combined effort of 312kg (140kg+172kg) placed him 16th overall among 40 weightlifters and fifth in Group C.

The gold medal in the total category of men’s 73kg went to Thailand’s Weeraphon Wichuma, who hauled a total of 349kg (154kg+195kg). China’s Yinting Wei, 337kg (157kg+180kg), and Turkey’s Muhammed Furkan Ozbek, 334kg (147kg+187kg), claimed the silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Weightlifters competing at the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 earned Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) points based on the total results (snatch + clean and jerk). 

The top 10 athletes based on OQR at the end of the qualification cycle in April 2024 will obtain Olympic quotas for their national teams. Each country can secure a maximum of one Olympic quota per weight division.

Shubham Todkar, making his world championships debut, lifted a total of 269kg (119kg+150kg) for 22nd position in the men’s 61kg category and came third in Group D.

Weightlifters are designated groups based on their entry weights. The lifters with the highest entries are placed in Group A, followed by Group B, Group C and so on. 

Medals in men’s 61kg total category went to China’s Fabin Li ,308kg (141kg+167kg), Italy’s Sergio Massidda, 302kg (137kg+165kg), and China’s Hongjie Ding, 301kg (135kg+166kg).

So far, India have won 17 medals at World Weightlifting Championships which include three golds, nine silvers and five bronze. Karnam Malleswari (1994, 1995) and Mirabai Chanu (2017) have bagged the gold medals for India.

World Weightlifting Championships 2023: India results

• Mirabai Chanu (women’s 49kg) - weigh-in only
• Bindyarani Devi (women’s 55kg) - weigh-in only
• Ajith Narayana (men’s 73kg) - 16th place
• Achinta Sheuli (men’s 73kg) - 25th place
• Shubham Tanaji Todkar (men’s 61kg) - 22nd place