World Weightlifting Championship | Mirabai breaks record but misses out on podium
Former champion Mirabai Chanu bettered her own national record but missed out on a podium finish at the World Weightlifting championships after lifting 201kg (87kg+114kg). 18-year-old Sneha Soren finished second in group D of the women’s 55kg event after lifting 173kg (72kg+101kg).
Former world champion Mirabai Chanu bettered her own national record but missed out on a podium finish, securing the fourth spot in the women’s 49kg event at the World Weightlifting Championship in Pattaya on Thursday. The 25-year-old Mirabai lifted a personal best in all the three sections by lifting 87kg in snatch followed by 114kg in clean and jerk for a total of 201kg.
Mirabai’s earlier national record was 199kg (88kg+111kg) which she recorded in the Asian Weightlifting Championship in China in April. Her goal was to reach the 210kg mark until the Olympics, and crossing the 200kg mark here is the first step towards it. The gold medal went to Jiang Huihua of China who set a new world record with an effort 212kg (94kg+118kg). The earlier record was held by Hou Zhihui of China, who had lifted 210kg. Incidentally, Zhihui clinched the silver medal, lifting 211kg (94kg+117kg) in the gold level Olympic qualifier breaking her previous record.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum claimed the final spot on the podium by lifting 204kg (89kg+115kg). After clearing 87kg in snatch, Mirabai began her clean and jerk with a 110kg and then lifted 114kg. In her third attempt, she failed to lift 118kg which would have won her the bronze with a total of 205kg. In World Championships and continental championships, unlike the Olympics, medals are awarded separately for the snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift. In the Olympics, medals are awarded only for total lift.
This was Mirabai’s fourth international competition in this category after the International Weightlifting Federation re-jigged the weight categories last year. She was earlier competing in 48kg. The 25-year-old, who had won 48kg gold at the 2017 edition in Anaheim, USA with an overall effort of 194kgs, returned to action in February following a lower-back injury. Owing to this back-injury, she had to miss out on both the World Championship and the Asian Games in 2018
Mirabai had also clinched the gold medal in 49kg at the EGAT Cup, which was the first of the six Olympic qualifying events for her. The other Indian in the fray, 18-year-old Sneha Soren finished second in group D of the women’s 55kg event lifting 173kg (72kg+101kg) which earned her second place in the eight-woman field of the easiest group competition.
In the snatch section, Sneha finished fifth after lifting 72 kg. However, she was ranked one in the clean and jerk category for her effort of 101kg and her final standing will be determined after the end of the group A proceedings.
