CHENNAI: Given the proposed change in weight categories from June this year and the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled next year, none of the elite weightlifters from the country are expected to feature in selection trials to be held at the SAI's National Center of Excellence, Patiala on March 10. The trials are being organised to select teams for the IWF World Youth & Junior Championships and Asian Championships. The former is slated from April 30 to May 5 in Lima, Peru while the continental tournament is scheduled in Jiangshan, China from May 9 to 15.
"Around 50 lifters are expected to compete in the one-day selection trials. Senior athletes are unlikely to compete as they are adjusting to the new weight categories and preparing for the Asian Games and CWG," Vijay Sharma, weightlifting head coach, told this daily. The CWG will be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23 to August 2 next year. It will be followed by the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan from September 19 to October 4.
After the approval by the executive board of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), a new set of bodyweight categories will be in place from June 1, 2025, for the international competitions.
For the senior and junior age groups, the eight categories for men include 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, 110kg, +110kg. Similarly, for the senior and junior women, the eight categories are 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, 86kg, +86kg. For the Youth age group, the categories for men are 56kg, 60kg, 65kg, 71kg, 79kg, 88kg, 98kg, and +98kg while for youth women, the categories are 44kg, 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 77kg, +77kg.
The new categories meant India's star lifter, Mirabai Chanu, has to return to 48kg from her pet 49kg. She is not the lone lifter from the country to be affected by the change as other core group athletes too have to adjust according to the new weight divisions.
"I will switch to 71kg from 73kg. I have started preparing for the change and will soon join the ongoing camp in Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh," Tamil Nadu's lifter N Ajith told this daily.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Chanu started weight training in Modinagar in January. A few more core group lifters are training at the venue named Weightlifting Warriors Academy. Apart from them, around 50 young athletes are also currently training at the facility under the guidance of Sharma.
As per the existing plan, the Commonwealth Senior, Junior & Youth Championships scheduled in Ahmedabad from August 24 to 30 could be Mirabai's first international event after the heartbreak in the Paris Games last year where she finished fourth. The 2017 world gold medallist had taken a break for a couple of months after the Olympics before resuming training early this year.
Talent hunt
Meanwhile, the SAI along with the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) are scouting for talent across the country and have picked up children between the ages of 9 and 10 from four states so far. "The scouting has been done in Assam, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Manipur. We have selected quite a few children and they will be groomed for the future. The talent hunt programme could also be held in a few more states like Andhra Pradesh but it all depends on our existing capacity," added coach Sharma.
