'Fit' Mirabai set for Commonwealth Championships
CHENNAI: More than a year after a disappointing fourth place finish at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ace lifter Mirabai Chanu will be seen lifting weights in an international event during the 2025 Commonwealth Senior, Junior and Youth Championships. The event is scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat from August 24 to 30. With the International Weightlifting Federation revising weight categories and scrapping her pet division 49kg, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist will compete in 48kg at the championships. Around 300 athletes from 31 countries are set to compete in the tournament.
"Mirabai is fit and ready for the tournament," Vijay Sharma, weightlifting head coach, told this daily. The competition will be held in eight weight categories in each senior, junior and youth sections. The championships is also a qualifying event for the 2026 Commonwealth Games scheduled in Glasgow, Scotland.
"The Senior World Championships slated from October 2 to 11 in Forde, Norway will be her next international event," added Sharma. A ranking list based on the lifters' performance in the two events and the 2026 Asian Championships will be prepared and the top athlete from each weight category will become eligible for the Commonwealth Games, informed the coach.
"The next three tournaments are important as they will serve as qualifiers for the 2026 CWG. Mirabai started weight training in January and is in good shape and free of injuries. She is competing in a new weight category now so if she can repeat her best show in 49kg then it will be good enough," said the coach.
Mirabai finished fourth in the women's 49kg at the Paris Games as she could not lift 114kg in her third and final clean and jerk attempt. Mirabai lifted a total of 199kg (88kg in snatch+111kg in C&J). It was 3kgs less than what she heaved at the Tokyo Games (202 kg) for a silver medal. Surodchana Khambao from Thailand bagged the bronze for her effort of 200kg (88kg+112kg).
Speaking on Mirabai's snatch lift that deprived her of a consecutive Olympic medal, the coach said they are not really trying to breach the 90kg mark at the moment. "She lifted 88kg in the 49kg weight category and if she does the same in 48kg then it will be good enough. We are not trying to improve on anything at the moment. If she can lift an overall weight of 200kg that will be good as per our expectations," Sharma said.
Apart from her, Sorokhaibam Bindyarani Devi will be India's medal hope at the event. She will compete in 58kg. Other women lifters from the country in the senior category are Sneha Soren (53kg), Seram Nirupama Devi (63kg), Harjinder Kaur (69kg), Harmanpreet Kaur (77kg), Vanshita Verma (86kg) and Mehak Sharma (+86kg).
In the senior men's section, Tamil Nadu's N Ajith will compete in the 71kg. Muthupandi Raja will return to action in an international tournament after a gap of around four years as he will represent the country in 65kg. Others in the section are Chanambam Rishikanta Singh(60kg), Valluri Ajaya Babu (79kg), Ajay Singh (88kg), Dilbag Singh (94kg), Harcharan Singh (110kg) and Lovepreet Singh (+110kg).