Mirabai Chanu, Gururaja bag gold in national weightlifting

Rio Olympian S Mirabai Chanu (women’s 48kg) and Gururaja (men’s 56kg) bagged gold medals in their respective categories on the opening day of the Senior National Weightlifting Championships here on Monday.

A total of 265 weighlifters are a part of the ongoing Championships and three weight categories concluded on Monday – two in women and one in men.

Mirabai of RSPB lifted 81kg in snatch and 105kg in clean & jerk for a total of 186kg to finish on top in women’s 48kg, while 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist K Sanjita Chanu, also representing RSPB, won the silver with an overall lift of 185kg (79+106) and Jhilli Dalabehera (ORS) settled for the bronze with an effort of 152kg (64+88). 

In the men’s 56kg, SSCB’s Gururaja lifted a total of 246kg with 110kg in snatch and 136kg in clean & jerk. TBC Lalchhanhima (Mizoram) and Korada Ramana (RSPB) clinched the silver and bronze, respectively, with efforts of 238kg (103+135) and  237kg (105+132). In women’s 53kg category, M Santoshi (RSPB) emerged victorious by picking up an overall weight of 186kg (83+103), while Harshdeep Kaur (Punjab) lifted 177kg (77+100) for a silver and Assam’s Manalisha Sonowal ended with a bronze after lifting 176kg (77+99).