CHENNAI: As she did in the 2023 World Championships in Riyadh in September, ace Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will only mark her attendance at the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar starting Monday. As participation in the Qatar event is mandatory to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist will give the body weight and dope test, if required.
"Weigh-in for Mira is on Monday. She will attend it and undergo a dope test if asked to. She will not lift the weight," Vijay Sharma, weightlifting head coach, told this daily. Eyeing her maiden medal at the Asian Games a couple of months ago, the Manipur athlete completed only two lifts out of six attempts injuring her right thigh in the process. She managed 83kg in the snatch section and lifted 108kg in clean and jerk for a below-par total of 191kg and finished fourth in the women's 49kg at the Asian Games. She fell on her back while attempting a 117kg clean and jerk lift. She couldn't lift the weight in her third and final attempt. She collapsed after the failed attempt which meant she needed assistance to walk off the platform.
"We have consulted sports injury expert Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala in Mumbai after the injury she sustained at the Asian Games. The rehabilitation for the same has been going on at NIS Patiala ever since. She is in Qatar to mark her attendance as it's a mandatory event," added Sharma. The 2017 World gold medallist reportedly had tendonitis near the hip joint and was advised to rest for a few weeks.
The two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist has registered an entry weight of a mere 60kg for the Grand Prix which will conclude on December 14. She has been placed in group C based on the entry she has made, the lowest in the group of eight lifters. The lifters who register the highest entry weight are placed in group A followed by B and so on.
To qualify for the Paris Olympics, participation in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 IWF World Cup is a must. Besides, the lifter has to participate in a minimum of three of the five events a) 2022 IWF World (Senior) Championships, b) 2023 Continental (Senior) Championships, c) 2023 IWF Grand Prix I, d) 2023 IWF Grand Prix II and e) 2024 Continental (Senior) Championships.
"As per the Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR), she is placed second in her weight category which means she has already qualified for the Games given her present position. Now she has to compete in the continental championships and I am quite sure by then she will complete her rehabilitation and start lifting weights," said the head coach. The Asian Championships, which is also a qualifying event for the 2024 Games, will be held from February 3 to 10 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 5-member Indian team A five-member Indian contingent reached Doha on Saturday to compete at the event. Apart from Mirabai, the team comprised S Bindyarani Devi (55kg), N Ajith (73kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg) and Gurdeep Singh (+109kg). The competitions in 73kg men and 55kg women will be held on December 6. Ajith is placed in group C with an entry of 290kg while Achinta is in group B with an entry of 300kg. Bindyarani is in group A with an entry of 190kg.
Speaking on the possibility of another Indian lifter qualifying for the Olympics, Sharma said, "Chances are rare and we are relying on continental quota for the same."
A total of 120 lifters will compete in five weight categories each in the men's and women's sections at the Paris Games. As many as 50 men and as many women will qualify via OQR (top 10 in each division) while 10 quota places (5 men and 5 women) will be reserved for continental representation. Six lifters (3 men and 3 women) will be eligible for universality places apart from four lifters (2 men and 2 women) from the host country.
The qualification period for the OQR began on August 1, 2022, and concludes on April 28, 2024.
