Delhi, India: Mirbai Chanu had a wrist injury at the National Games this year, making it hard for her to even hold the barbell. The Tokyo Olympics silver medalist was forced to manage the injury because the World Championships were just two months away. And Chanu performed well there. All the "pain" was worth it when she won silver in the 49 kg weight division at the World Championships.
Chanu finished in second place on the podium with a total of 200 kilograms after lifting 87 kilograms in Snatch and 113 kilograms in Clean and Jerk. But she and her coach, Vijay Sharma, stopped adding more iron plates there. With only a year and a half remaining in the weightlifting qualification cycle for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which began on August 1, 2022, they didn't want to risk further wrist injury.
However, in Bogota, Colombia, the world record holder in clean and jerk (119 kg) had to summon every ounce of her grit and energy.
She failed to lift 87 kilograms in snatch, but she did lift with a lot of difficulty. In the past, Chanu has mentioned reaching 90 kg in snatch as a goal, but this time, he was talking about staying on the podium with an injury. 87 kilograms sufficed for that.
She is still having trouble with snatch's wide grip. When Chanu is squatting and receiving the bar overhead, the weak wrist muscles are at their most vulnerable.
Her first clean and jerk lift of 111 kilograms also had red lights, but she pulled it off on her second try and added two more kilograms for 113 kilograms, earning her the silver medal behind China's Jiang Huihua, who lifted 206 kilograms (93 kilograms, 113 kilograms) for gold. Hou Zhihui, Huihua's compatriot and the current 49 kg Olympic champion, took bronze with a weight of 198 kg (89 kg, 109 kg).
Chanu has long desired to defeat a Chinese competitor and Tokyo Olympics gold medalist. At the point when she won gold (48kg) at the 2017 Big showdowns, China was not piece of the opposition held in California. She came in fourth place in 2019 and didn't compete in the World Championships in 2021.
Chanu was a little ill when TimesofIndia.com got in touch with her—she had a bad cold and a stomach bug from her competition. But she was kind enough to come back shortly after getting some rest and sit down for a conversation.
Excerpts: A second international medal in 2022, following the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and a second medal at the World Championships. However, you appear to be a little under the weather... Yes, I have a cold and an upset stomach. However, after some rest this morning, it is slightly better.
The life of an athlete is hard, right?
(Smiles). Yes. Preparing mei bhi center karna aur baaki sab...Kar rahi hu, sabko khush rakhna hai (need to zero in on preparing and furthermore oversee all the other things. attempting to do so; I must satisfy everyone). That's how we live.
Both your medal and your wrist have been widely reported. However, a momentous accomplishment to be harmed nevertheless end up on the platform...
Much thanks to you. The MRI I had done after the National Games revealed this injury. The muscle is injured as a result of overtraining and overload. In their language, I believe they refer to it as a cyst, which means something bloody. But the pain doesn't last forever. It moves around. It's now and again. In between, it was fine, but when I was training in the United States, I felt the pain once more.
In such a competitive field at the World Championships, how did you manage it?
The wrist is critical, particularly in snatch. I had never worn a wrist band before, but I had to wear it to avoid pain because it would have been very difficult for me if the injury had gotten worse. So I used the band to give my muscles support. Additionally, my physiotherapist has advised some exercise. The load is being felt by the wrist's small muscles. So I'm following every one of the activities for that. It has assisted me.
You finished ahead of the Olympic champion, but you only lost by two kilograms to the gold medalist. Was it deliberate so as not to aggravate your injury by putting on more weight?
Yes, due to the wrist injury, we decided in snatch to limit ourselves to a maximum weight of 88 kg. I was hoping to lift a heavier weight in Clean & Jerk, but the judges declared it a no-lift on my first attempt.
Naturally, you were concerned about your wrist. I couldn't afford to hurt it more because I had important competitions coming up, like the Asian Games and the Asian Championships. Now that I've recovered from this injury, my focus is on that.
So, we can say that your injury prevented you from winning the gold, but you still beat a Chinese athlete. That must be extremely satisfying; if China and Korea can accomplish that, why can't we? As a result, beating the Chinese was always a goal of mine and Indian weightlifting for me. I, China, and Korea are at odds with one another. As a result, I'm always up for a challenge.
Now you're 28. Your schedule includes the Paris Olympics, but is your body telling you to slow down and control your workload?
Overtraining results in one or the other. It doesn't just happen to weightlifters; it can happen to any player, in any sport, when something small becomes weak. My wrist and back both give me trouble from time to time. Sir (mentor Vijay Sharma) has likewise prompted me that now, over the long haul, I should do what I didn't do before...like which muscles in that frame of mind, back, shoulders should be dealt with. I will be able to keep my body in good shape and avoid injury if I do it on a regular basis. Before and after training, I already started with that.
What is the next goal on your list?
The Asian Games are very important to me because India does not have a weightlifting gold medal. My first priority is recovering from this wrist injury.