Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu can be seen training for the upcoming women's 49kg event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in a video shared by the Sports Authority of India. Chanu is currently in the United States for the last leg of her training before the Summer Games commence.
Mirabai Chanu's promising record
Chanu first entered the limelight when she won a gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim. This solid performance was followed by a gold medal win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Even in competitions held during the last couple of years, Mirabai Chanu has been performing well. At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championship, she managed to secure a fourth-place finish with a total lift of 201kgs.
At the 2020 National Championships, Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 203kgs, with a successful 'snatch' lift of 88 kg and a 115kg 'clean & jerk' lift.
In this year's Asian Championship in Tashkent, Mirabai Chanu went even further when she lifted a world record weight of 119kg in the 'clean & jerk' category and managed a total of 205kgs. This earned her a bronze and a place at the Tokyo Olympics.
Can Mirabai Chanu win a medal?
The Manipuri girl is the only Indian weightlifter who will represent India at the Tokyo Olympics and expectations will be high. In order to secure a podium place, Chanu needs to improve on her 'snatch' lift where she has struggled in the recent past.
Mirabai Chanu's best lift was 87kg. The two favorites to win the gold, Zhihui and Huihua from China, have lifted more than 90kg in their 'snatch' lifts. If Chanu can complement her dominant 'clean & jerk' lift with a strong 'snatch' lift, she surely stands a chance to claim a medal and create history.
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