Mirabai Chanu and other Indian lifters start their quest to qualify for Paris 2024
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The Weightlifting World Championships 2022, the first official qualifying competition, which begins on Monday, will be the Indian weightlifters' first opportunity to get into a routine as they begin their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Mirabai Chanu will serve as team captain.
In an effort to accrue the necessary ranking points to qualify for the Paris Games, Olympic silver medalist Chanu, Commonwealth Games medalists S Bindiyarani Devi (59 kg), Achinta Sheuli (73 kg), and Gurdeep Singh (+109 kg), will all compete for the first time since the Birmingham Games in August.
Head coach Vijay Sharma encourages the other lifters to rise to the situation and surpass themselves in at least one category, even if Chanu, a past world champion, is not anticipated to push herself to her limits in this competition.
"My expectation for this tournament is that apart from Mira, everyone should try and get a personal best in one of the three categories. That will show improvement and will help them in their qualification
"For Mira, we will try to get 200+ total in every qualifying event so that we qualify for the Olympics," Sharma told PTI.
Chanu's personal best weight is 207 kg (88 kg plus 119 kg). Since 2020, she has been attempting to break the 90 kg barrier in the snatch division. The Manipuri, who deals with a back ailment that impacts her snatch, might not risk lifting 90kg at the main event, though, as the Olympics are still a ways off and the Asian Games are set for September.
"To regularly overload is not prudent. A 200kg + total weight will comfortably lead to qualification so we are not going to take much pressure in this event," a confident Sharma added.
Chanu is currently rated first among lifters in the 49 kg division. However, all 11 competitors in the category have signed in with beginning weights of 200 pounds or over, with the two Chinese competitors who won the Olympic gold in Tokyo, Hou Zhihui and Jiang Huihua, having the highest starting weight (205 kg).
Bindiyarani, who placed second in the 55kg competition at the CWG, will move up to 59kg. Although she is physically strong, the team is trying to enhance her technique for better outcomes.
"Her technique is not that great, we have to work on that first. She has the strength but the technique is poor," Sharma said.
Considering her entrance weight, Bindiyarani has been assigned to the D category. Sheuli (77 kg), the CWG champion, Gurdeep (+ 109 kg), and Rishiskanata have been placed in the C category in their respective categories and have little to no chance of medaling.
The famous competition will bring together the world's top weightlifters in Bogota. The weightlifting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be reduced from 14 at the Tokyo Games to 10 after the 2022 World Championships. It is not a required event, though; it is an extra one.
A lifter must compulsorily compete in both the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup in order to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. In addition to the aforementioned requirements, the lifter also needs to compete in three of the 2022 World Championships, 2023 Continental Championships, 2023 Grand Prix I, 2023 Grand Prix II, and 2024 Continental Championships.
Squad members include Gurdeep Singh (+109kg), Mirabai Chanu (49kg), S Bindiyrani Devi (59kg), Chanambam Rishikanta Singh (61kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg).
