Weightlifting, Olympics 2024: Resilient Mirabai Chanu expected to shine after injury-plagued year

As we count down to the 2024 Olympic Games, the top competitors will be expected to continue to perform at the highest level, while others will hope to punch above their weight and reach for a spot on the podium. In the build up to the mega event in Paris, Scroll looks at the eight different Olympic disciplines where Indians have returned with a medal.

Three years ago, at the delayed Tokyo Olympics, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu opened India’s medal tally on the very first day of competitions. She achieved a combined lift of 202kg, securing a silver medal in the women’s 49kg event, making it only the first time that India would win a medal on Day 1 of an Olympic Games.

In Paris, Chanu will not compete on the first day of the Games, but she remains one of the favorites to bring home a medal.

Also read: Weightlifting, Olympics 2024: Mirabai Chanu hopes to set the bar along with podium finish in Paris

In Tokyo, she became only the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal. Before that, Karnam Malleswari lifted 110kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk, totalling 240kg at the 2000 Sydney Olympics to win the bronze medal in the women’s 69kg category.

Malleshwari was the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, and the first athlete from her sport – male or female – to stand on an Olympic podium. Her bronze medal was also the only medal India won in Sydney.

But Chanu, the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold medallist, now has a chance to become a two-time Olympic medallist.

Although there is pressure from the high expectations following her previous performance and being the only Indian representative in the sport in Paris, her training and experience are likely to help her handle it effectively.

Dr Aaron Horschig, a renowned strength and conditioning coach based in the United States, has played a significant role in Chanu’s rehabilitation process and is likely to be an influencing factor even in Paris. Horschig has been working with Chanu since 2020 and had helped her prepare for Tokyo as well.

Along with the practice sessions and recover, Chanu began training in La Ferté-Milon, France, nearly a month before the Olympics. The 30-year-old Manipuri weightlifter will be in action in the women’s 49kg event on August 7 at the South Paris Arena 6 at 11.30 pm IST.

Chanu, the one and only

Chanu won India’s only weightlifting quota for Paris and she comes into the Olympics with a decent number of international appearances under the belt.

According to the rules, weightlifters were required to attend both the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 and this year’s IWF World Cup to be eligible for the Olympic Games. Additionally, they had to participate in at least three of the following events: the 2022 World Championships, the 2023 Continental Championships, the 2023 Grand Prix I, the 2023 Grand Prix II, and the 2024 Continental Championships.

Chanu met these requirements by competing at the 2022 World Championships and the 2023 Asian Championships, and by attending the 2023 Grand Prix II.

She also attended the weigh-in at the 2023 Worlds but chose not to lift to maintain her fitness for the Asian Games.

However, things took a turn for the worse when her participation for Paris faced significant uncertainty after suffering a severe hip joint injury during the Asian Games in September 2023. Despite many qualification events remaining, she was advised to rest for five months.

But she recovered in time to secure her spot in Paris, for what will be her third Olympic appearance.

Naturally, Chanu had to be very selective and strategic about her participation in competitions this year.

In 2024, she participated in only one event – the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Thailand – where she finished 12th with a combined lift of 184 kilos. However, this was enough to secure her a spot in Paris.

With her recovery and preparation on track, breaching the elusive 90kg mark in the snatch lift is a goal she aspires to achieve this time.

The field is highly competitive which adds to the challenge she faces. The most prominent opponent is Tokyo 2020 gold medalist from China, Hou Zhihui, who set a world record in snatch by lifting 97kg at the World Cup in Phuket in April. Hou achieved a combined lift of 217kg to win silver, demonstrating that her preparation for Paris is progressing well.

Fortunately for the competitors in the women’s 49kg category, the eventual gold medalist at the World Cup in Phuket, Ri Song Gum from North Korea who lifted an impressive total of 221kg, will not be competing in the Olympics.

In fact, North Korean lifters that swept the medals in Asian Games will be absent from weightlifting due to their failure to participate in the mandatory International Weightlifting Federation qualifying events.

Khambao Surodchana from Thailand is another experienced lifter in Chanu’s field. There are also some new entrants that can prove to be threatening. For instance, Jourdan Delacruz of the United States recently lifted 200kg to win a silver at the 2023 World Championships in Riyadh.

Chanu may be India’s one and only representative in the sport. But along with being a solid lifter, she is also a fighter. Despite facing a tough year with limited competition and coming off a serious hip injury, she has demonstrated resilience to qualify for Paris.

All eyes will understandably be on her.

The weightlifting events at the Olympics will take place from August 7 to August 11.

Indian contingent

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (women’s 49kg)