New Delhi
Mirabai Chanu has been a frontrunner in the women’s 49kg category for years but with an increasing number of weightlifters breaching the elusive 90kg mark, the pressure is mounting on the Tokyo Olympics medallist to nail the coveted lift. As many as seven athletes, including five in this current Olympic cycle, have lifted 90kg or more in the snatch section. Chanu herself has been working to cross the mark since 2019. However, the much-anticipated 90kg snatch lift has eluded her in her two attempts in the past four years. The Manipuri athlete had first attempted it at the National Championships in February 2020 and then again at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Chanu’s personal best in the section remains an underwhelming 88kg and the gulf between with her competitors is increasing every tournament. The Chinese duo of Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Hou Zhihui and two-time world champion Jiang Huihua has been consistently lifting in excess of 90kg at tournaments. The return of Thai weightlifters after severing a two-year suspension has made the field more competitive with both Thanyathon Sukcharoen and Surodchana Khambao lifting 90kg at the Asian Championships in May this year. European champion Mihaela Valentina Cambei (92kg) of Romania and North Korea’s Ri Song Gum (91kg) are the other athletes to have snatched more than 90kg. The Asian Games, starting in Hangzhou, China on September 23, will be the perfect opportunity for the star Indian lifter to successfully hoist 90kg or more. We are aiming to cross the 90kg mark (in snatch) at the Asian Games. It’s been a while since we have been trying to get over that line, India head coach Vijay Sharma.
