At the World Weightlifting Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September, two-time medalist Mirabai Chanu will again lead the Indian effort. The Commonwealth Games medalists Bindyarani Devi (55 kg), Achinta Sheuli (73 kg), Shubham Todkar (61 kg), and Narayana Ajith (73 kg) will also participate in the international competition in addition to Chanu (49 kg).
With the exception of Todkar, the same team will compete at the Asian Games. Chanu, who won the silver medal at the Olympics in Tokyo, will be competing for the first time since placing sixth at the Asian Championships in May. As part of a 65-day camp run by Dr. Aron Horschig, a previous weightlifter-turned-physical therapist and fitness coach, Chanu and Bindyarani are currently in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States.
“Mira is not hurt; we are improving her strength right now. She will compete at both the Worlds and the Asian Games, according to Chanu’s national trainer Vijay Sharma, who is with her in the US.
The interval between the Asian Games and the Worlds is extremely short.
The World Championships, which typically start in November and December of each year, are set to start on September 4 and the Asian Games, which will begin in Hangzhou, China on September 23, less than 20 days later. Chanu has never won an Asiad medal, despite the fact that the Asian Games do not count as an event for qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
She will participate in both events because the Asian Games medal is the only one she lacks. Chanu, a past world champion, had won a silver medal in the last World Championships in December of the previous year. The 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup are required competitions under the 2024 Olympic qualification rule.