Indian weightlifters have sealed two quota places at Rio Olympics 2016 by merit of their performance at the recently concluded Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The women’s team, with 100 points, managed an impressive third position overall whereas the men finished sixth, having bagged 129 points at the tournament themselves.
For the women, Glasgow Commonwealth silver medallist Punam Yadav led from the front in the 63kg section to come sixth while both Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sagolsem Thasana Chanu (58kg) finished seventh in their respective categories to lift India’s chances of making the cut for Rio.
In the 48kg category, Mirabai Chanu's successful lift of 84 kg in snatch set a new national record while her final tally of 190 kg equalled the previous best that had been set by current coach N Kunjarani Devi in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
None of the lifters from men’s team could manage a top-10 finish at the Uzbek capital. Gopal Anbarasu(62 kg) was placed 12th while his compatriots Dipak Mahajan(56kg) and Sambo Lapung (69kg) bagged 14th and 15th positions respectively.
The final representatives for India – one each in the men’s and the women’s category – will now be chosen via national-level trials well ahead of the Games in August.
