New Delhi, Oct 3— Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu returned to the World Championships podium with a silver medal in the women’s 48kg category, lifting a total of 199kg on Thursday. The 2017 world champion and 2022 silver medallist added another accolade to her career after moving down from the 49kg division.
Chanu, a former world record holder in clean and jerk, managed 84kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk. She struggled early, missing two attempts at 87kg in snatch, but recovered strongly in clean and jerk, completing lifts of 109kg, 112kg, and 115kg without error. The mark of 115kg was the same weight she last hoisted at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where she won silver.
“Our target here was to cross the 200kg total and gradually match the weights she had been attempting in the 49kg,” India’s chief coach Vijay Sharma had said before the competition. Chanu fell just short of that milestone but showed consistency in her strongest discipline.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum claimed gold with a dominant 213kg (91kg + 122kg), setting world records in both total and clean and jerk. Ri lifted 120kg and then 122kg in her final two attempts to secure the top spot. Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoen took bronze with 198kg (88kg + 110kg).
Chanu’s latest medal cements her standing as India’s most decorated weightlifter, adding another chapter to her long run of international successes.
