Rohan Chowdhury in Paris
Yet another 4th finish. India’s 6th of the Paris 2024 campaign, as the Tokyo 2020 silver medalist finished with 199 points and missed the podium by a kilogram to Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting.
China’s Hou Zhihui created history with her last lift in Clean and Jerk, an Olympic Record of 117 kgs in the category. It was the lift that all Indian fans and Chanu looked forward to. Both Hou and Chanu were on a total of 199 and had the Chinese failed that lift, Chanu’s bronze would have been secured on lower body weight.
The difference was made in Chanu’s first attempt in Clean and Jerk. She failed the attempt of 111 kgs. “I am happy with how I performed after an injury.”
“I got very little time to prepare for the Olympics and I would rate my performance on the higher side”, as she spoke to the media.
Had she attempted a lower weight in the first attempt in Clean and Jerk and saved a bit of that energy, she probably could have gone to a higher weight in the following attempts. She explained, “Well, maybe, yes,it would have been a good move to start with a lighter weight, but Sir (Coach, Vijay Sharma) had calculated the medal and I followed it.” She ultimately lifted 111 kgs in her second attempt in C&J and failed a third attempt at 114 kgs.
“It was going well and I’m happy with my performance. It’s just not my lucky day. I tried my best for my country,” she added.
She was on her third day in her menstrual cycle, which hurt her performance. “I have recovered fully from my injury but it was the third day of that week of the month,” said the weightlifter. “It impacted me a bit. But this is not an excuse. We train to cope with this, because this is the most natural thing to happen to any woman.”
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Karnam Malleswari Exclusive
“Had she opted for 112kg instead of 114kg, she might have clinched the Bronze.” Former Olympic Bronze Medalist Karnam Malleswari reflects on Mirabai Chanu’s performance.@FederalBankLtd @iabhijitdesh #MirabaiChanu #Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/0CZL0WuNWV
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) August 8, 2024
How does she train for such days? Chanu answered: “I try to ignore it as much as possible while training.” But to be honest, there is a huge difference between training in your camp and performing in front of a packed crowd in the Olympics. I try to prepare my mind to accept it as any other regular thing and not let it affect my performance, she added.
Chanu also did well in the snatch, where she made her highest lift of 88 kgs, which many failed to lift. She finished 3rd in that round.
As it stands, India missed another medal by a whisker. China’s Hou with her humongous attempt snatched the gold medal from Romania’s Cambei Valentina who had been brilliant throughout and was in the gold medal contention.
The day, which started with the most devastating news of Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification, had hopes for Chanu to get a good finish. It wasn’t to be.
“Every athlete prepares for a medal finish but everything is not in their hands,” said Chanu on India’s consistent 4th-place finishes. “The athletes give their best but it depends on the day of the final. I believe in destiny. If you are destined to win, you will!”
Mirabai then went on to share her views on the incident surrounding Vinesh: “It’s very unfortunate. Yes, maintaining weight in a particular category is very tough. Diet is of utmost importance and it takes a lot of sacrifices in the process of maintaining weight. Also, a lot depends on destiny.”
Also Read: Vinesh Phogat and India’s sporting dream – From six minutes of ecstasy to 100 grams of despair