Mirabai Chanu Aims for Asian Championships in the Coming Year to Make a Comeback from Injury

Recovering from a hip injury sustained during the Asian Games, prominent Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is setting her sights on making a comeback at the Asian Championships next year.

Chanu, who suffered hip tendinitis while competing at the Hangzhou Games, has been undergoing rehabilitation and is currently 75% fit. The national coach, Vijay Sharma, mentioned that Chanu will commence training from December 20 and is expected to fully recover by the Asian Championships, scheduled to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from February 3 to 10. Despite the injury setback, Chanu is ranked second in the Olympic Qualification Rating (OQR) in the 49kg category, with a total effort of 200kg achieved at the 2022 World Championships.

As part of the Olympic qualification rules, lifters must attend, weigh-in, and participate in the official introduction of athletes at specific events. Chanu will fulfill these requirements at the IWF Grand Prix II in Doha, where she won’t be lifting but will mark her attendance. The 2024 Olympic qualification rule mandates lifters to compete in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup, along with participation in three of the listed events. The lifter with the highest totals in each Olympic bodyweight category per National Olympic Committee (NOC) will qualify for the Paris Games.

_{Repurposed article originally published in NDTV}