Paris, August 8: It was a heartbreak for Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu in the Paris Games as she finished fourth in the women’s 49kg weightlifting final here on Wednesday. After the final, Manipuri Lifter revealed that she felt weakness on stage as it was the third day of her menstruation. Mirabai finished with a score of 199kg after the conclusion of the two phases of the competition, 3kg less than her total at the Tokyo Olympics (202kg) for a silver medal. Her personal best is 205kg which she lifted in the 2020 Asian Championship. "I am happy with the performance... I tried my best to give my 100 to give India a medal. I managed this despite having very little time for recovery after my injury. I tried my best to get a medal for India, but it was not in destiny. It was the third day of my period, and in Tokyo it was my second day, so that also affects your body a bit," Mirabai told reporters. Mirabai Chanu Misses Out On Medal As She Finishes Fourth in Women's 49 Kg Weightlifting at Paris Olympics 2024.
Mirabai began the snatch round with an 85kg lift on her first attempt. However, her second attempt at 88kg proved to be unsuccessful. Mirabai had initially marked 86kg on her second attempt before making the change to 88kg a few minutes later. She matched her personal best of 88kg, a national record, on the final attempt in the snatch round. However, her effort was matched by Thai lifter Surodchana Khambao, with both of them being ranked joint-third by the end of the snatch round. "Everything was going well for me in the warm up. I gave my best in snatch (88kg). Clean and jerk was also going very well. I fumbled a bit in my first jerk... While walking on the stage, I was feeling a little weak because of the third day (of my period). It was going well; whatever the coach said, I did. It is just destiny that a medal slipped out of my hand," she added. Paris Olympics 2024: India Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu Misses Out on Medal by Whisker in Women's 49 Kg Event.
In clean and jerk, Chanu failed to lift 111kg after marking a weight higher than the rest of the field. However, she went for the same lift immediately after and aced it the second time, and climbed to second place along with Hou Zhihui. However, Surodchana lifted 112kg on her second attempt to record 200kg overall and push Mirabai out of the podium places.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 08, 2024 01:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).