During the Asian Games, Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu sustained a hip tendonitis injury.
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Mirabai Chanu, the 29-year-old Indian weightlifting star, secured her spot for the 2024 Paris Olympics on Monday, becoming the sole weightlifter from India to do so. She came in third in Group B and 11th overall for women’s 49kg at the IWF World Cup, punching her ticket to Paris. After being sidelined for six months due to injury, Mirabai made a comeback but wasn’t at her peak.
She managed an 81kg lift in the snatch and then successfully lifted 113kg in the clean and jerk, totaling 184kg. To put it into perspective, she had lifted a combined 202kg in Tokyo to take home the silver, with 87kg in the snatch and 115kg in the clean and jerk. Her records stand at 88kg for the snatch and 119kg for the clean and jerk. To qualify for the Olympics, the IWF requires lifters to compete in six major events, including the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup.
Mirabai met these conditions by taking part in the 2022 World Championships, the 2023 Asian Championships, and the 2024 World Cup. She also registered for the 2023 Worlds and Grand Prix II, where she went through the motions but didn’t compete, securing her qualification for Paris. She’s currently second on the Olympic Qualification Rankings (OQR).
The OQR list is updated based on the athletes’ performances, and the top 10 at the end of the qualifying period get to go to Paris. Mirabai’s second-place rank is thanks to her 200kg total lift at the 2022 World Championships. Although Chinese competitors and North Korea’s Ri Song Gum have lifted more, Mirabai remains high in the rankings because each country can send only one lifter to the Olympics, and North Korea joined the qualifying round too late.
Mirabai’s return marks the end of a stressful time. Her last competition before this was in September 2023 at the Asian Games, where she hurt her hip and had to be carried off. Needing a 117kg lift for bronze, she couldn’t make it and had to be helped away by her coach Vijay Sharma.
Despite the pain in her thigh on the day of the Asian Games event, Mirabai chose to push through, risking her chances for Paris. Since her silver medal in the Olympics, she’s had to frequently deal with injuries. Her biggest post-Tokyo win was the Commonwealth Games gold, where she was expected to dominate. Since then, it’s been a battle for her to maintain form.
She narrowly avoided a major injury when her wrist gave out during a lift at the 2022 World Championships, where she still won silver. In 2023, she registered for the World Championships but did not compete, only participated in two events, took a disappointing fifth at the Asian Championships, and then suffered a serious injury that cut short her Asian Games run.
Mirabai Chanu, the second Indian weightlifter to claim an Olympic medal, headed to St. Louis in the USA for a specialized month-long rehab under Dr. Aaron Horschig, marking January. This strategic move proved fruitful, as on Monday, Mirabai’s performance was notably fluid with lighter weights and against less fierce competition than usual, bolstering confidence that she could vie for another Olympic medal.
Looking forward, she plans to set up camp in La Ferté-Milon, France, nearly a month in advance of her competition to gear up for what’s arguably the biggest challenge of her career in Paris. Her performance in Tokyo, which initiated India’s medal count, sets the bar high for her, and the same level of anticipation surrounds her upcoming performance.
The hurdles before Mirabai are formidable: her comeback trail follows injury recovery, she has had fewer competitions than preferred for preparation, and the contest is intensifying. China’s Hou Zhihui is breaking records, while Thai competitors Khambao Surodchana and Sukcharoen make notable advances. Yet, one aspect of Mirabai remains predictable: her resilience. Intent on maximizing her six attempts, Mirabai is set to battle it out to the finish.
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