CHENNAI: The IWF Senior Weightlifting World Championships will begin in Ningbo, China from Tuesday. As per the entry list, six lifters (four women and two men) from India will compete at the competition. Once again eyes will be on ace lifter Mirabai Chanu, who for the first time will compete in the 53kg weight category as the divisions (49kg and 48kg) she used to compete in in the past are no longer part of the Olympic programme for the 2028 LA Games. The competitions in her weight category will be held on October 29.
Besides, it will also be for the first time since 2023 that the Manipuri lifter's entry is not done in Group A. She will compete in Group B. Her compatriot Gyaneshwari Yadav will also compete in the same weight category but in Group C. Three years ago, Mirabai, who recently won a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games in 49kg, was placed in Group D as she only weighed in to fulfill the mandatory participation criteria for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification without actually lifting. The 32-year-old Tokyo Olympics silver medallist was then prioritizing the Asian Games held shortly after the Worlds.
Mirabai won a silver medal in the 2025 edition where she competed in the 48kg division. She skipped the event in 2024 to complete her rehabilitation. In 2022, she finished second in the 49kg weight category. In 2017, she won the gold in the 48kg weight category to become second lifter from the country after Karnam Malleswari to finish on top of the podium. In 2014, 2015 and 2019 editions Mirabai could not finish on the podium.
In Worlds, lifters from the same weight category are divided into separate groups (A, B, C and D) based on entry totals (combined weight they plan to lift in snatch and clean and jerk sections) submitted by them. Mostly, top competitors compete in Group A but even a participant from other groups can win a medal based on his/her overall lift. The Worlds is one of the six events in period 1 of the Olympic Qualification System approved by the executive board of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) early this year for the 2028 LA Games. Period 2 has four events.
Apart from Mirabai and Gyaneshwari, Usha and Nirupama Devi are other two women lifters from the country in the event. Both will compete in the 61kg weight category as per the entries on the IWF website. Usha is placed in Group D while Nirupama is in Group C. In the men's section, Charu Pesi will compete in the 65kg division while Lovepreeet Singh, who won a silver medal at the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, will represent the country in the +110kg weight category.