Mirabai Chanu Has Her Goals Set on 90kg Snatch at Weightlifting in Asian Championship 2023

The two-time medalist at World Championships, Mirabai Chanu is all prepared for the Asian Championships 90kg category in weightlifting at Jinju, South Korea.

Written by: Arjita Gupta

Edited by: Krutarth Ghosalkar

Last Updated: 2023-05-02 08:48:31

The weightlifter Mirabai Chanu turned the tables in her favor in December where she won a medal at World Championships despite her weakened left wrist. This was her second medal in the championships at the international level. Her first win was the silver in Bogota, where she beat a Chinese lifter. Now the winner of the 49kg Tokyo Olympics silver medalist has her eyes set on winning the 90kg mark in the Asian Championships, which starts on Wednesday at Jinju, South Korea. Chanu won bronze in Tashkent when she last competed in the 2020 continental championships.

And she was runner-up to Hou Zhihui (Olympic gold) and Jiang Huihua (third gold at the World Championships in December at Bogota) of China. It was in Bogota that Mirabai was ahead of Hou, the latter winning the third spot. However, in the upcoming Paris Olympics qualifier at Jinju meets, the three-way content will hold a lot of excitement in the realm of sports. Mirabai said she is looking forward to the Asian Championships as for a few years, lifting 90kg has been the goal.

The best snatch in her career is for 88kg. She lifted this weight twice at Birmingham Commonwealth Games last year and the National Championships in Kolkata in 2020. In the 2020 Asian Championships, Chanu has her world record of 119kg, her best result in clean and jerk. Mirabai said that her goal is to lift 200kg in total as it will be ideal to put her in a medal position. She intends to get to the 90kg category win as it has been a bother for some time, and Chanu wants to get this done for sure.

However, she said that in weightlifting sports, the way your body behaves at the moment and day is what the situation depends on. It has been 5 months since Chanu faced her last competition. She is recovering from her left shoulder and left wrist injuries. She said that her left shoulder is weaker than the right one. And for this, her left wrist has to compensate by working harder. And this is the reason for the left wrist injury at the Worlds. For her rehabilitation, the US-based weightlifter, Dr. Aaron Horschig who is now a strength-and-conditioning expert to help.

The two have undergone virtual sessions for the last few months. Continuous monitoring of Chanu’s health at rehab was done by one of the students of Horschig in February after arriving at the NIS (National Institute of Sports), Patiala. Chanu appreciated assistance from Dr. Horschig as she said that it gave her access to her true potential and the recovery of pain in the right corner of the back and left shoulder was why she succeeded at the Olympics.

Dr. Horschig depends on exercises to give relief from pain, and this is what she likes about his method. Mirabai said that every person has a different technique and body. There is no promise that an individual can lift 90kg despite a fully fit body. The audience can think that she can easily lift 90kg as she did lift 88kg. But the small difference in weight, even if it is a kilogram, makes a world of difference. After all, there are instances of people losing Olympic medals because of a difference of 1kg. In her training, Chanu can lift 89kg.

As for the world record, it was set by Hu in April 2021 of lifting 96kg in the Tashkent Asian meet. For Mirabai, it gives a boost to her confidence in participating in the championships, and defeating the Chinese was not a reason for her mental block. She said not to believe something until the moment you finally do it, and she knew she could be beaten. So, her focus is to meet her goals than taking down the Chinese. Chanu said that it does not mean anything is guaranteed in this sport. Though last time she won the gold, it does not mean it will happen the same this time.

But the approach toward the competition is to be positive about the achievement and to think about it. So, her goal is to clinch a win in the 90kg category and for this, she has worked on her endurance and speed. She can lift 80-85% of her capacity, for now, every day at the training. This indicates she is preparing well for the content. And wishes that her checklist of 90kg category win also take place if God is willing.