Mirabai Chanu feels "real challenge" awaits her at 2018 Asian Games
Weight-lifter Mirabai Chanu believes that the real test of her quality will take place at the 2018 Asian Games rather than the Commonwealth Games. However, the World Championship gold medalist has also clarified that she has put full focus on the upcoming CWG that is set to take place in Gold Coast.
After a disappointing 2016 Rio Games in which she couldn't even get an overall total in any of the three attempts, she turned the table completely and managed to put up a dominant performance since then. Participating in the World Weightlifting Championship in the USA, Chanu began with a total of 85kg and then followed it up with 109 kg to bring home a second gold medal for India.
However, two big challenges lie ahead of her as she will participate in the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games in next few months, and she believes that the Asian event will be a tougher one for her.
"My focus this year is on the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. I do realize that the competition at the Commonwealth Games is quite weak and the real test for me will be the Asian Games. The Chinese, Thailand, South Korean and North Korean lifters will be my main competitors," she wrote in a column for TOI.
"The Asian lifters are world class and this will be my real test. Thus my main focus will be on the Asian Games but that doesn’t mean I will be taking the Commonwealth Games lightly.
"We are currently training for these events under the guidance of my coach Vijay Kumar. It is a well-planned training system that has helped me improve my lifting capacity by nearly 25 kg. This was visible to me during the World Championships where I won the gold medal with a total lift of 194 kg."
After her success at the World Championship, her chances of winning a medal in the upcoming events has increased drastically. Her compatriot Sanjita Chanu, who won a gold medal in the last CWG, also moved to 53kg category and Mirabai Chanu believes that it will help her in the next event.
“Anaheim, USA was the venue of the World Championships where I lifted 85kg in the snatch and 109kg in the clean and jerk. Now, in the practice session, I am lifting two kg more in
"We are soon off to Melbourne for our final phase of preparation for the Commonwealth Games in April. At the last edition of the event, I won the silver behind my teammate Sanjita Chanu. This time she is competing in the 53 kg category. Her shifting has diminished my competition at the national level. Two or more tough competitors in your country