Guwahati: Olympic medalist Mirabai Chanu won silver at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia.
Mirabai lifted 200 kg in total (87 kg snatch + 113 kg clean & jerk), which was 2 kg more than Olympic champion Hou Zhihua of China (198 kg) and 6 kg less than Jiang Huihua of China (206 kg; 93 + 113) who took home the gold medal.
China’s Hou Zhihui won bronze with 198 (89kg plus 109 kg).
When Mirabai had trouble with the overhead lift in her second clean-and-jerk effort it was clear that she had a wrist issue but she quickly recovered to finish with the best lift of 113 kg. In the snatch competition, she made the best attempt of 87 kg. Mirabai won silver in the clean and jerk division with her 113kg attempt.
Mirabai previously won gold in the 2017 World Championships with a lift of 194 kg making her her second Worlds medal (85kg plus 109kg). She finished fourth in the 2019 competition.
Olympic gold medalist Hou seemed to be struggling on the day lifting a lot less than her personal bests of 96 kg in the snatch and 118 kg in the clean and jerk (Mirabai holds the world record in that, at 119kg).
A lifter must participate in both the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup in order to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The weightlifting events at the 2024 Paris Olympics will be reduced from 14 at the Tokyo Games to 10 after the 2022 World Championships.