India’s ace weightlifter Mirabai Chanu finished sixth overall in the 49kg category at the Asian Championships but she is unlikely to attempt the much-awaited 90kg snatch lift in Jinju, Korea on Friday.
While she attempted 88kg in Snatch twice, she didn’t come out for her last two attempts in Clean & Jerk, where she is the current world record holder. The total of 194kg was far from her personal best of 207kg (88kg+119kg) but it was on the cards.
The two-time Commonwealth Games champion had won silver in her last outing, which came at the World Championships in Bogota in December. There she had registered an overall effort of 200kg (87kg +113kg).
According to PTI, 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 as per the competition rules.
As reported before the event, the Indian Olympic Games silver medallist didn’t push her limits in Jinju either. She had a successful first attempt in both Snatch and Clean & Jerk of 85kg and 109kg respectively.
“Mira only has to participate here. We will take it easy,” head coach Vijay Sharma had told PTI before the event. “She will just participate and lift 85kg (snatch)...110kg (clean and jerk), totals that she can easily get.”
For the Olympic qualification criteria, this event is part of the non-mandatory list of competitions where athletes are expected to participate in three such. The Indian was placed second in the qualification list before Jinju, thanks to her 200kg in Bogota last year.
Chinese duo of Jiang Huihua and Hou Zhihui were placed No 1 and No 2 in the event.
Corrections and clarifications: The article originally said Chanu finished fifth. It has been updated throughout for accuracy.