Resilient Mirabai Chanu sets sights on historic podium finish in Paris

Away from the spotlight owing to an injuryplagued buildup Mirabai Chanu will be in focus on Wednesday at the Paris Olympics 2024 when she attempts to become Indias first weightlifter to win two Olympic medals but a challenging field and lingering fitness concerns stand in the wayThe lifter who opened Indias tally on the first day of the competition at the Tokyo Olympics with a sparkling silver has kept a low profile since suffering hip tendonitis during the Asian Games last OctoberChanu has endured a rather underwhelming Olympic cycle thanks to injury and workload managementHer best effort since Tokyo came at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she lifted 201kg 88kg113kg She had won the silver in Tokyo by heaving 202kg 87kg115kgCompeting in her pet 49kg weight category Chanu is likely to be in the scramble for a silver or bronze if she matches or betters her personal best in both sectionsReigning Olympic champion Chinas Hou Zhihui is the favourite to defend her titleAlso ReadCant suddenly push player under the bus Ponnappa on Padukones criticismWhile there are still murmurs surrounding her fitness after she returned from a five month hiatus following the hip injury both Chanu and chief national coach Vijay Sharma have asserted that the Manipuri has completely recoveredWe know that Mira has to go well beyond the 200kg mark 202kg will not cut it this time but somewhere around 205206kg should do it But we are prepared for the challenge coach Sharma told PTIHowever this is easier said than done as the 29yearold has struggled to surpass her personal best of 88kg in the snatch set at the 2020 National Championships and 119kg in clean and jerk achieved at the 2021 Asian Championships for quite a whileWhile Chanu who turns 30 on Thursday will have one eye on her competitors barbells the Manipuris main battle will be with herself at the South Paris ArenaHer performance in the snatch section continues to be her achilles heal and her mediocre clean and jerk performance recently also doesnt inspire confidenceWhile a 90kg snatch lift continues to elude Chanu four of her competitors have breached the coveted markHaving said that Chanu has been known to be a fighter and one of the most tenacious athletes in the countryBe it battling intense menstrual camps to win a medal in Tokyo or attempting a 117kg clean and jerk lift despite injuring herself during the Asian Games she has shown her resolute sideDespite the absence of North Koreas Asian Games champion and world record holder Ri Song Gum the 49kg event is a highly competitive contestChanu has set an entry weight of 200kg alongside two others USAs threetime Pan American champion and a world bronze medallist Jourdan Delacruz and 2021 world champion Surodchana Khambao of ThailandZhihui and twotime European champion Romanian Mihaela Cambei have set entry weights of 210kg and 205kg respectivelyChanu has been training for a month for the Paris Olympics 2024She also got help from American Dr Aaron Horschig a former weightlifterturnedphysical therapist and strength and conditioning coach who has been working with Chanu since 2020With agency inputs