Mirabai manages only two good lifts, finishes sixth

Jinju: Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s Asian Championship campaign did not go as per plan as she faltered in snatch and chose not to make her last two clean and jerk attempts to finish sixth here on Friday.

The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, competing in the 49kg category, managed to lift 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk for an overall effort of 194kg, a whopping 13kg less than her personal best of 207kg.

Japan’s Rira Suzuki, who was competing in the B group finished with the same total 194kg (83kg+111kg). But since she competed before Chanu she finished ahead of the Indian.

Chanu started the snatch with an 85kg lift, which she executed perfectly. She then set a weight of 88kg as she attempted to match her personal best. The Manipuri, however, failed to heave the barbell in her next two attempts and had to be content with an 85kg total in snatch. Four lifters had better snatch results than Chanu, all lifting 90kg or above.

While Chanu herself has been trying to breach the 90kg-mark in snatch since 2020, head coach Vijay Sharma had told PTI that the former world champion was unlikely to attempt the coveted lift here.

The last time Chanu competed at the Asian Championships in 2021, she had returned home with a bronze medal and a world record in clean and jerk (119kg). However this time, she only attempted a 109kg lift before deciding not to go for her final two attempts, the reason for which is not known yet.

Sharma has said several times earlier that the aim is to peak at the Asian Games later this year. A medal at the continental multi-sport event is the only one missing from the Manipuri’s trophy cabinet.

China’s Jiang Huihua won the gold medal with a total lift of 207kg (94kg+113kg). She attempted to break Chanu’s world reord of 119kg with a lift of 120kg in her final clean and jerk attempt.

Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Hou Zhihui finished second as she heaved 204kg (93kg+111kg) while Thailand’s Serodchana Khambao 200kg (90kg+110lg) bagged the bronze medal.

The ongoing championship is one of the qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where weightlifting events will be cut from 14 at Tokyo Games to 10.