With snatch improvement on her mind, Mirabai Chanu is the odds-on favourite for gold at CWG 2022

The Indian weightlifter's recent results are a class apart from her competitors in the 49kg category in Birmingham, but she will be looking to further refine her silver medal performance from Tokyo.

Mirabai Chanu. (File)

The heaviest weight on Mirabai Chanu’s shoulders on Saturday is going to be the weight of expectations. With a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year – India’s best weightlifting feat at the event – it would not be immodest to say that her Commonwealth Games task is almost a foregone conclusion.

With the top lifters from China and Korea missing, Chanu is undoubtedly the favourite to leave Birmingham with the 49kg gold around her neck. Her 203kg combined lift in Tokyo qualified her for the event, and is 35kg better than the next best qualifier – Stella Peter Kingsley of Nigeria – who lifted 168kg at the world championships last year.

The other lifters in the fray could be Mauritius’ Roilya Ranaivosoa and Papua New Guinea’s Loa Dika Toua, who lifted 164kg and 167kg at Tokyo respectively to make the cut. Both of them have personal bests of 180kg, but have been nowhere near Chanu’s personal best of 205kg, which she lifted at the Asian Championships in Tashkent last year.

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The Indian is well aware of the expectations but as anticipation of her success in Birmingham builds, she is sticking to the tried and tested lines. “I know what the fans want. I will try my best to do well in the CWG. After Tokyo, I have been focusing mainly on my technique and right now I can only assure you that everything is fine with my training and technique. I have done a lot of work on that,” she said.

However, her preparation has been a bit disturbed this year. The Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) wanted Chanu to increase her body weight to take part in the 55kg category to ensure more medals for India, with Jhilli Dalabehera taking her place in the 49kg class. But after a new rule stating only the best lifter in a category will qualify for an event at the Games, despite making the 55kg cut at the Singapore International, the move was shelved.

Despite the distractions, given her pedigree and previous results, there are few doubts over her status as the favourite on Saturday.

Explained

Will Chanu lift 90kg in snatch?

While she is likely to blow the competition out of the water at the Games on Saturday, there is still some progress to be made for Chanu.
Weightlifting is made up of two rounds – the snatch, in which the lifter raises the barbell directly over their head, and clean and jerk, in which the lifter must first bring it up to their chest before lifting it over their head.
The 28-year-old’s best performances have come through her domination of the clean and jerk, in which her 119 kg lift in Tashkent is the world record, but she has lagged behind the world’s best in snatch. She was 8kg behind China’s Hou Zhihui at the Olympics last year, with 7kg coming from Hou’s advantage in the snatch section.
Chanu has gone on record to say she is looking to improve her snatch lifts, and has been working with American physiotherapist Dr Aaron Horschig to be able to curb any physical limitations stopping her from doing better. Her personal best is 88kg and the aim for the CWG is 90kg – an improvement which could ensure more podium finishes at top international events.

Mirabai Chanu will take part in the Women’s 49kg weightlifting event on Saturday, 30th July, at 8PM IST.