World Weightlifting Championships: Mirabai Chanu shines bright, grabs silver

Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu added another glittering chapter to her illustrious career, securing a silver medal in the 48kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships. With this podium finish, Chanu, a former 2017 world champion and 2022 silver medallist, now boasts three World Championship medals in her career.

Competing after moving down from the 49kg division, Chanu produced a total lift of 199kg, comprising 84kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk. She faced early challenges in the snatch, failing twice at 87kg, but found her rhythm in the clean and jerk, successfully completing all three attempts with lifts of 109kg, 112kg, and 115kg. Notably, her last lift of 115kg matched her performance at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she had won a silver medal.

Chanu’s chief coach, Vijay Sharma, had earlier outlined that the goal for these championships was to surpass the 200kg mark and replicate the weights she had been lifting in the 49kg category. Despite narrowly missing this benchmark, Chanu’s performance reaffirmed her status as one of the sport’s elite athletes.

The gold medal went to North Korea’s Ri Song Gum, who delivered a commanding total of 213kg (91kg snatch + 122kg clean and jerk), setting new world records in both the total and the clean and jerk. Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoen took the bronze with a total lift of 198kg (88kg + 110kg).

Chanu’s silver adds to India’s growing prominence in global weightlifting, showcasing her resilience and consistency on the world stage, despite moving into a lower weight category.

With PTI inputs