India's Olympic campaign faced another heartbreak as Mirabai Chanu narrowly missed out on a medal in the 49kg Women’s Weightlifting event at the Paris Olympics, finishing in fourth place.
Despite her impressive performance of lifting 88kg and 111kg in the Snatch and Clean-and-Jerk respectively, Chanu fell just one kilogram short of securing a Bronze medal. She started strong with an 85kg lift in the Snatch, effortlessly completing her first attempt.
After several unsuccessful attempts by her competitors, Chanu also struggled to clear 88kg on her second try. However, she redeemed herself on her third attempt, matching her best lift in the Snatch event.
By the end of the Snatch event, Chanu found herself in third place behind China’s Hou Zhihui and Romanian Cambei Mihaela Valentina, who lifted 89kg and 93kg respectively.
Heading into the Clean-and-Jerk event, Chanu faced tough competition as other lifters made up ground with heavier lifts. Despite the pressure, Chanu decided to open with a strong lift of 111kg instead of her planned 107kg.
As the reigning world champion and other competitors matched her lifts, Chanu knew she needed a positive start to stay in contention for a medal.
Chanu struggled with her first attempt, failing to widen her stance enough to support herself during the jerk, causing her to drop the weight. However, with patience and a slight adjustment to her technique, Mirabai succeeded on her second try, lifting 111kg and achieving a total of 199kg. This performance tied her for second place with Zhihui.
In order to remain competitive, Mirabai needed to lift her personal best of 202kg. Despite the pressure, she opted for a 114kg lift on her final attempt. Unfortunately, she stumbled at the last moment, failing to complete the jerk and finishing with a total of 199kg. She was narrowly edged out by Thai lifter Surodchana Khambao, who lifted 1kg more on her final attempt.
Mirabai, who won a silver medal for India on the first day of the Tokyo Olympics, has maintained a low profile since suffering from hip tendonitis during the Asian Games last October. After a six-month injury layoff, she competed in the IWF World Cup, lifting her lowest weight in years with a total of 184kg. This placed her 12th, 33kg behind China's Hou Zhihui, the defending Olympic champion.
Despite her challenges, Mirabai secured a spot in the Paris Games after just one month of training following her injury breakdown.
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