Mirabai Chanu is on the path to recovery. She will be meeting her doctor in Mumbai in two days and then decide on her rehab programme. The Olympic silver-winner weightlifter got injured at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, about two months ago.
“Mira is much better and her review is due in two days or so. She had been to a Grand Prix competition in Doha, just for the weigh-in. It was important to go there, as athletes are also randomly tested as per the anti-doping protocol. Her next competition will be in March in Thailand, where, again, there will be a weigh-in,” said Sahdev Yadav, the president of the Indian Weightlifting Federation.
Mirabai will not take part in the competition in Thailand. But it is essential for weightlifters to appear in these competitions and get their weight checked officially. The former world champion has been grappling with a thigh injury for a while. Largely because of that, she finished fourth in the Asian Games.
According to Yadav, Mirabai is much better now. “As far as we are concerned, she is in much better shape. However, the doctor will assess her and decide the rehab programme ahead. Most likely, she will be heading back to St Louis, US,” added Yadav.
Before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she became the first Indian weightlifter to win a medal in the history of the competition, Mirabai was battling fitness issues. The sports ministry had sent her to Aaron Horschig, a conditioning expert in the US. Founder of the Squat University, Horschig has helped many athletes in recovery and regaining fitness.
As a former weightlifter himself who works with players from the NFL and other sports, Horschig had played an important part in helping Mirabai regain full fitness and strength before the Tokyo Olympics.
This time, too, it appears Mirabai will head to St Louis before reaching Paris for the 2024 Olympics. “There is absolutely no rush for her to be get back into training. We are sure she will win a medal again,” said Yadav.
With North Korea banned from competing in the Paris Olympics, Yadav is upbeat about Mirabai’s chances. Even though the North Koreans came to the Hangzhou Asian Games and swept medals, the country did not allow the international weightlifting body to come and collect dope samples. It resulted in a ban on them for the Olympics.
“It is good for us that the North Koreans will not be there. Anti-doping protocol, the whereabouts clause etc, all this has to be followed very strictly in weightlifting. I am very confident Mira will soon be in good shape. We are monitoring her return closely,” Yadav said.