Mirabai Chanu finishes sixth at Asian Weighlifting Championships 2023

She lifted a total of 194kg after just one attempt each in Snatch and Clean&Jerk section.

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, Mirabai Chanu finished sixth in the 49kg weightlifting category by lifting a total of 194kg (snatch – 85kg and clean&jerk – 109kg) at the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023. China’s Huihua Jiang (207 kg) and Zhihui Hou (204 kg) clinched the gold and silver medals respectively.

Mirabai, 27, was placed alongside reigning Olympic champion Zhihui Hou in Group A. Chanu was making a comeback post-injury (after five months) and started the proceedings comfortably in the snatch section. At the start of the event, Chanu entered with 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean&jerk.

According to a PTI report earlier, Mirabai Chanu was unlikely to attempt the much-awaited 90kg snatch and as expected, she started with a cautious approach at 85kg. After crossing the opening hurdle, she increased the weight of the bar by 3kg (88kg) but couldn’t produce a successful lift twice, ending with a best result of 85kg.

Chinese weightlifters Jiang Huihua and Hou Zhihui finished the first half by lifting 94kg and 93kg respectively and occupied the top two spots. Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoen and Surodchana Khambao finished with a best effort of 90kg.

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After a break of ten minutes, Chanu entered the clean&jerk section with 109kg and cleared the first hurdle. Unfortunately, the Indian did not comeback for the next two lifts which ended her stay at the continental meet prematurely.

The Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist had a good chance of claiming the bronze medal (at 116kg) as Thanyathon Sukcharoen and Surodchana Khambao finished the clean&jerk at 110kg.

In the end, the gold medallist Jiang Huihua attempted to break Chanu’s WR mark of 119 kg but couldn’t succeed. The Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 is the second qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympic Games 2024. Last year, Mirabai Chanu bagged silver in the World Weightlifting Championships 2022 held in Bogota, Colombia.

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