At The Asian Championships, Mirabai Chanu’s Problematic Hip Hinders Her Performance
Chanu, who took home a silver medal from the Olympics in Tokyo, could only muster two strong lifts on Friday, placing sixth overall in the 49kg division of the competition in Jinju, South Korea. At the Asian Championships, Chanu could only lift 85 kg in snatch and 109 kg in clean and jerk for a combined effort of 194 kg, compared to her personal bests of 88 kg and 119 kg in snatch. She only succeeded in doing one successful snatch lift and exited the competition after her first clean and jerk attempt owing to discomfort in her left hip joint.
Mira’s left hip joint was giving her a tonne of pain. Given the potential consequences of continuing with the lifts, we decided against taking a chance. prompted a physical issue, according to head coach Vijay Sharma. Sharma, who has been concentrating on Olympic qualifiers and hopes to peak at the Asian Games and tournaments closer to the Olympics next year, claims that Chanu’s goal in the competition was simply to participate.
With a total weight of 200 kg, Chanu took home a silver medal at the World Championships in December of the previous year. Sharma has now clarified that competing in the Olympic qualifiers is the main goal. The Manipuri’s trophy case is only lacking one medal—an Asian Games medal.
At the Asian Championships, four lifters who all weighed 90 kg or more performed better in the snatch event than Chanu. Chanu has been attempting to lift 90 kg in snatch since 2020, but Sharma predicted that Chanu will not attempt the coveted lift before the competition.
Chanu attempted a 109kg clean and jerk lift; after deciding against continuing for her final two tries, she finished with a 194kg total. In the ‘B’ group competition, Rira Suzuki from Japan ended with the same score as Chanu, but because she finished her lift before Chanu, she came in first.
Jiang Huihua of China took first place with a lift of 207 kg (94 kg + 113 kg), Hou Zhihui of China came in second with a lift of 204 kg (93 kg + 111 kg), and Thailand’s Serodchana Khambao took third with a lift of 200 kg (90 kg + 110 kg). The current competition is one of the trials for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where there will be ten weightlifting competitions instead of the 14 at the Tokyo Games.
The Olympic Qualification Rating (OQR) for each weight category will be made public by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after the conclusion of the qualification season. For definite evaluation, the weightlifter’s main three outcomes from the passing contests will be thought of.
Chanu finished sixth in the Asian Championships as a result of her hip ailment and inability to perform to her personal best in the snatch and clean and jerk events. The team’s goals are to win a medal at the Asian Games and compete in the Olympic qualification events in Paris in 2024.
