NEW DELHI: Mirabai Chanu is all set to push the weight envelope at the Birmingham CWG next month. The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist has set herself a target of lifting a record 90kg in snatch and another 120kg in clean and jerk at the Games to defend her Gold Coast CWG title won four years ago.
Mirabai, who will be competing in Birmingham in her preferred 49kg class, holds both the Commonwealth (CR) and the Games record (GR) in snatch and clean & jerk. In Gold Coast, the former world champion had heaved the barbell to 86kg in snatch (CR, GR) and 110kg in clean & jerk (CR, GR) to lift a total of 196kg (CR, GR) en route her gold medal triumph in the 48kg division.
“I am targeting crossing the 90kg mark in snatch and hoping to lift 120kg+ in clean & jerk at the Birmingham CWG. That’s what I am looking to achieve there. I have improved my technique in snatch after returning from Tokyo and the changes are visible during training sessions (in NIS Patiala),” Mirabai told TOI in an exclusive interaction facilitated by IOS Sports & Entertainment on Monday.
The diminutive Manipuri weightlifter has, since her Gold Coast CWG exploits, come a long way to improve her performance massively in clean & jerk, holding the world record (49kg) in clean and jerk after successfully lifting 119kg at the Asian Championships in April last year. Her overall personal best has been 205kg, but it’s the snatch where she’s still looking to master the technique. Her personal best of 87kg in snatch (2019 Worlds in USA’s Anaheim) doesn’t justify the immense talent she possesses. Only once competitively has Mirabai lifted the 88kg in snatch during the National Championships in 2020. According to Mirabai, her left shoulder was weak which was putting load on her right shoulder and lower back. During her visits to Dr. Aaron Horschig, a former weightlifter-turned-physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach in the US, Mirabai was diagnosed with mobility restrictions affecting her snatch movement.
“After returning from Tokyo, I have solely focused on improving my snatch technique because that’s the weakest link. During the training sessions, I was looking to balance my shoulder movement without putting pressure on my lower back. Earlier, I would find it difficult to control or hold the barbell during the snatch movement because of this shoulder unevenness. Apart from strength training, technique plays the most important part in weightlifting. And, that’s what I have improved in snatch. I am confident about lifting 90kg at the CWG,” she explained.
Since Tokyo, Mirabai has been to the competition arena only once. In February – after a gap of seven months during which she missed the Commonwealth and World Championships in November 2021 – she had participated at the Singapore International meet, where she secured the gold in the 55kg class with an overall effort of 191kg (86kg in snatch+105kg in clean & jerk). Now, prior to the CWG-bound weightlifting squad’s departure on either June 23rd or 24th for a month-long preparatory trip to Birmingham, Mirabai informed that she’ll be competing in an Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF)-organised women’s league in Himachal Pradesh’s Nagrota Bagwan town in Kangra district to assess her fitness level and Games readiness.
“Yes, I’ll participate in the 49kg category. It will be like a dress rehearsal for me prior to the CWG. Every weightlifter wants a competition to assess his/her performance before any big international event. I want to see whatever I have learned or changed during my training sessions, whether I have been able to apply them in a competitive field. It will give me a fair idea of improvement that is still needed.”
