Chanu’s first gold in over 20 years
NEW DELHI: Mirabai Chanu on Thursday became the first Indian in over two decades to claim a gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim, USA, exorcising the ghosts of her forgettable outing at the Rio Olympics.
Chanu, who is employed with the Indian Railways, lifted 85 kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194 kg in the women’s 48 kg, in the process setting a new national record.
“What I have achieved today would not have been possible without the guidance of my coach Vijay Sharma. Me and my coach left no stone unturned in our quest to taste success at the top level,” said Chanu, the 2014 Commonwealth Games silver medallist.
“It was disappointing I could not win a medal in Rio Olympics. I made mistakes (in Rio) and I am still sad about that. This medal has erased that sadness. I will work on my weaknesses and try to win medals in CWG and Asian Games next year and Tokyo Olympics.”
“We have got a medal in weightlifting after 24 years, it is great achievement. In fact, this is a bigger achievement than Olympics because World Championships is much more tougher with a bigger and stronger pool of players,” Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Secretary General Sahdev Yadav said.
Chanu, with her lift of 85kg, came second in snatch but bagged the top positions each in clean & jerk and in overall total to finish with the yellow metal in a field of 20 lifters.
With a personal best of 192kg, Chanu entered into the competition as a strong medal contender and her quest for a gold medal was made easier by the absence of Rio Olympics 48kg gold medallist Sopita Tanasan of Thailand, who shifted to 53kg in this championship and China could not field any lifter due to a one-year ban for doping.
In September, Chanu had booked a berth for next year’s Commonwealth Games after winning gold at the Commonwealth Senior Weightlifting Championships held in Australia. She had broken Commonwealth record in snatch event with a lift of 85kg, bettering her own record by a kilogramme.