Mirabai Chanu to blaze comeback trail at Worlds

Forde (Norway): On a comeback trail, former champion Mirabai Chanu will continue to test herself in the new 48kg category when she once again carries India’s medal hopes at the World Weightlifting Championships beginning here on Thursday.

Although India has fielded a 12-member squad, the 2017 world champion and 2022 silver medallist Chanu remains the country’s lone realistic medal contender.

With the new Olympic weight divisions in effect for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the 31-year-old has opted to move down from the 49kg class to 48kg.

The injury-hit Tokyo Olympic silver medallist returned to action in August after a year-long rehab, managing a modest 193kg (84kg+109kg) at the Commonwealth Championships in a relatively weak field.

At the first Worlds of the new Olympics cycle, Chanu will not only gauge her own progress but, along with chief coach Vijay Sharma, also assess the landscape of both fresh and familiar challengers.

“The tournament will help us understand where Mira is lacking, what we need to work on,” Sharma said. “There are several new lifters in the 48kg, so we will keep an eye on the competition to calibrate our targets and build up gradually.”