Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu earned a silver medal at the World Championships. This was despite her having a wrist injury. She earned the medal with a total lift of 200kg.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist lifted 87 kg in the snatch. Her highest lift in the clean and jerk was 113 kg on Tuesday night while participating in the 49 kg weight class.
The Chinese athlete Jiang Huihua won the gold with a total effort of 206 kg (93 kg + 113 kg). Tokyo Olympics champion Hou Zhihua won the bronze with a total effort of 198 kg (89 kg + 109 kg). The Indians placed second.
"We were not taking any pressure for this event. This is the weight Mira lifts regularly. From now we will start increasing the weights and improving," head coach Vijay Sharma told PTI.
The 2017 world champion, Ms. Chanu, had a wrist injury in September while working out. With the injury, she had also competed in the National Games in October.
"Since we didn't want to miss the World Championships, there wasn't much we could do about the injury. Now that there is a lot of time until the subsequent event, we will concentrate on her wrist "explained Mr. Sharma.
Although the 11 lifters were in a very competitive field, few lifters overextended themselves. To clinch bronze, Zhihua even skipped her final clean and jerk effort.
Ms. Chanu had a lackluster snatch performance. This was her first international competition since winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. She began by lifting 84 kg, but her second effort, at 87 kg, was disqualified.
Ms. Chanu didn't attempt the anticipated 90-kg lift, as was expected. The 28-year-old had bandages wrapped around her wrist and stumbled a little during her final effort. But she managed to lift the 87kg barbell. This effort is one kilogram less than her personal best in the exercise.
Ms. Chanu placed fifth after the snatch section and established the record for the highest clean and jerk entry weight. Her first attempt at 111 kg was not counted because her left elbow swung slightly.
The judges upheld the ruling despite an appeal from the Indian camp.
Nevertheless, Ms. Chanu, the category's world record holder, was successful in her final two efforts at 111 kg and 113 kg. This effort earned her the overall gold medal and the clean and jerk silver. She won silver in the snatch category as well.
She previously won a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships.
