Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu has bagged another major medal, winning the silver at the 2022 Weightlifting World Championships in Bogota.
Despite a wrist injury, Chanu lifted 87 kg in snatch and 113kg in the clean and jerk round, taking her total tally to 200kg. She finished ahead of third placed Tokyo gold medallist Hou Zhihua 198kg (89kg+109kg) while China's Jiang Huihua bagged the gold with a total effort of 206kg (93kg+113kg).
"It’s an emotionally proud moment for me to bring another world championship medal back home, after 5 long years. I had a wrist pain but I am always ready to push myself to cross the line for my country," said Mirabai after her podium finish.
Mirabai had won the World Championship gold in 2017, making this her second medal at the event.
The 2022 CWG champion though had injured her wrist while training in September.
"It’s been a truly proud moment for me to watch Mira grab another medal at the world championship, after half a decade. It was a little challenging for her due to the wrist issue. But she managed to beat two of the top athletes and lifted 200kg so effortlessly," said her coach Vijay Sharma.
Mirabai started with an 85kg lift in the snatch. She tried for 87kg on her second attempt but could not complete it before hitting the 87kg mark on the third attempt. The effort placed her fifth in the 11-woman field after the first round.
In clean and jerk, Mirabai, competing in her first international meet since winning the Commonwealth Games 2022 in August, once again struggled with her left wrist. The Indian weightlifter failed in her first attempt, lifted 111kg on the second try, and matched eventual gold medallist Jiang Huihua's 113kg in her third attempt to enter the top three.
Jiang Huihua, who topped the snatch event, looked set to grab the gold in the overall category. She gave a shot at breaking Mirabai Chanu's world record of 119kg clean and jerk with a 120 kg attempt in her final lift but failed.
Apart from an overall silver, Mirabai Chanu also won silver in the clean and jerk. At the world championships, medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift unlike the Olympics, where one single medal is awarded for the total lift.
Tokyo 2020 champion Hou Zhihui, meanwhile, played to avoid an injury and did not go for her last attempt having lifted 109kg for bronze previously.
The World Weightlifting Championships 2022 are the first in the series of qualifying events for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Commonwealth Games 2022 gold medallist Achinta Sheuli (men's 73kg), CWG silver medallist Bindyarani Devi (women's 59kg) and CWG bronze winner Gurdeep Singh (men's +109kg) are also competing in the event for India.
(With inputs from IANS)
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