Mirabai Chanu Saikhom, Indian Weightlifter, looked certain to win a medal at Paris Olympics 2024. She lifted more than 200 kgs in 2020 Olympics to win a silver medal. But she could not repeat the same level of performance in 2024. She worked hard and lifted her best 88 kgs in Snatch and couldn’t lift 114 kgs in Clean and Jerk.
She still managed an impressive 199 kgs total to end at 4th position with successful 111 Kgs lift in Clean and Jerk. She aimed for 114 Kgs in failed 3rd attempt. Had Mirabai been successful she would have ended with 202 kgs total weight and won a Bronze medal. Romanian Valentina Cambei surprised everyone with 205 kgs lift while champion Hou Zhihui retained gold with 206 kgs lift.
Surodchana Khambai from Thailand won Bronze with 200 kgs lift. Mirabai Chanu missed out with just 1 kg, an olympic medal. The player released a video byte after the competition. She reasoned that she did not get enough time to recover from her devastating Asian Games injury. While her support staff and herself worked hard at rehab, she still had weakness.
Mirabai Chanu also stated that she had “women’s problem” hinting at menstrual cramps and stated that it was her 3rd day. Previously at Tokyo also she faced same problem but that was second day. These health issues combined resulted in her medal loss. Well, she did seem to be not at her best in the competition and we hope she would comeback better in 2028 Olympics.
