CHENNAI: The upcoming 2021 IWF Junior World Championships scheduled in Tashkent, Uzbekistan from May 21 to 31 will decide Indian weightlifter Jeremy Larinnunga’s Olympic fate. The 18-year-old from Mizoram not only has to compete in the event, which offers crucial ranking points, but also lift more than 310kg to ensure he secures the continental quota for the Games.
What could make life difficult for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games champion is the knee pain he developed during the Asian Championships last month. Currently, South Korean lifter Han Myeongmok is ahead of Jeremy in the world ranking list. He has around 100 Robi points more than his Indian counterpart. The Korean finished fifth in the continental event held in Tashkent, lifting 312kg (143 in snatch and 169 in clean and jerk). Jeremy was eighth with a total lift of 302kg (139kg snatch and 163 in C&J).
“The South Korean lifter is ahead of me at the moment. I am told that I have to lift more than 310kg in the Junior World Championships to go past him and make an Olympic cut,” the lifter, who competes in the 67kg bodyweight category, told this daily from NIS Patiala. His personal best is 306kg (140kg in snatch and 166kg in clean and jerk), which came at the Qatar International Cup in Doha in 2019. The effort helped him bag a silver medal.
He underwent MRI scan after the championships and was told that he has swelling in his knee joint. “I am recovering from it. I have been advised by doctors not to put pressure on my feet that’s why I am focusing more on strengthening right now. However, I have started doing light training with the world event around the corner. I still have more than a fortnight to recover. I hope to compete in the Uzbekistan event and earn requisite ranking points,” he said.
Two-member Indian team
Apart from Jeremy, Achinta Sheuli (73kg) will also participate in the Junior World Championships. He finished seventh in the Asian Championships. “Only two male lifters from the country will compete in the event. They have to reach there on May 20. The duo would be given the first dose of the vaccine before leaving,” said Sahdev Yadav, secretary-general of the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).