World Weightlifting Championships 2023: Mirabai Chanu decides to not lift; will just attend weigh-in

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Mirabai Chanu will not heave the barbell at the World Weightlifting Championships 2023 next week but in order to be eligible for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the star Indian lifter will mark her attendance at the compulsory Olympic qualifying event by completing the necessary formalities.

The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist, who competes in the 49kg weight class, has decided to prioritise the Asian Games, being held less than 20 days after the World Weightlifting Championships 2023, instead as a medal in the continental event is the only silverware missing from Mirabai Chanu trophy cabinet.

"There is very less time between the Asian Games and the World Championships. Since there is compulsory participation at the Worlds, we have decided that Mirabai will only travel to Riyadh and give the body weight.

"Mirabai Chanu will complete all the mandatory protocols like give the dope test, if required. But she will not lift any weight. She is only going there to participate," head coach Vijay Sharma told PTI.

Having won the World Championships in 2017, ideally Chanu would have skipped the event this year but under the 2024 Olympic qualification rules, a lifter has to compulsorily compete in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup.

As per the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rulebook, a lifter doesn't have to complete a lift but only need to attend the weigh-in to mark his/her presence at the Worlds. The global event is scheduled from September 4 in Riyadh while the Asian Games in Hangzhou begins on September 23.

The short turnover between the two events makes it difficult for lifters to manage their weight and peak at both the events. Chanu has registered an entry weight of a mere 60kg at the World Championships. Based on that she has been placed in Group D of the competition. The lifters who register the highest entry weight are placed in group A, followed by B and so on.

-PTI