World Weightlifting Championships 2023: Mirabai Chanu to headline Indian challenge - full squad

Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu will lead a five-member Indian team at the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Riyadh meet, which will be held from September 4 to 17, is a qualifying tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Two-time world championships medallist Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women’s 49kg category. Bindyarani Devi, the 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships gold medal winner, will be in action in the women’s 55kg event.

Mirabai Chanu, the 2017 world champion, and Bindyarani Devi are currently training at St Louis' SQUAT University under Dr Aron Horschig.

The men’s team comprises Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Achinta Sheuli, who will participate in the 73kg alongside reigning national champion Narayana Ajith. Shubham Todkar, who won the gold medal in the 61kg category in the ongoing Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in New Delhi, will also be in fray.

Youth Olympic Games champion Jeremy Lalrinnunga will not be part of the Indian team for the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 after missing the trials due to injury.

The World Weightlifting Championships 2023 in Riyadh will be Mirabai Chanu’s second competition of the year. The 28-year-old lifter from Manipur, who underwent a five-month rehabilitation programme following hip surgery last December, competed in the Asian Championships in May and finished sixth.

The World Weightlifting Championships 2023 will be a precursor to the Asian Games 2023. The same team, barring Shubham Todkar, will represent India at the continental showpiece event, scheduled from September 23 to October 8, in Hangzhou, the People's Republic of China.

World Weightlifting Championships 2023: India team

Women: Mirabai Chanu (49kg), Bindyarani Devi (55kg)

Men: Shubham Todkar (61kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg), Narayana Ajith (73kg)