Prediction: Can Mirabai Chanu win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics?

Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter who competes in the women's 49kg category. The weightlifter from Manipur has won many accolades for India at various global tournaments. Her most notable achievement came in 2017 when she won the gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winner followed this up with another gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.

But heading into the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as India's only weightlifter at this year's Games, can Mirabai Chanu secure a medal for the country?

Mirabai Chanu's recent performances

Mirabai has been performing reasonably well in competitions over the last couple of years. At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championship, Mirabai managed to secure a fourth place finish with a total lift of 201kg.

The weight lifted by her has gradually increased over the past couple of years. At the 2020 National Championships, Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 203kg, with a successful 'snatch' lift of 88 kg and a 115kg 'clean & jerk' lift.

At last year's Asian Championship in Tashkent, Mirabai went even further when she lifted a world record weight of 119kg in the 'clean & jerk' category and managed a total of 205kg. This won her the bronze medal and secured her a place at the Tokyo Olympics.

In her first international competition in more than a year, #TOPSAthlete @mirabai_chanu 🏋️‍♀️ wins 🥉 in Women’s 49 Kg weightlifting at the Asian Championships with a new #NationalRecord of 205 kg. Her clean and jerk lift of 119 kg is a new #WorldRecord. We are proud of you Mira!👏 pic.twitter.com/MKmGPyvRPR

— SAIMedia (@Media_SAI) April 17, 2021

Mirabai's challengers

The 49kg category in women's weightlifting is dominated by the Chinese pair of Hou Zhihui and Jiang Huihua and they will be the firm favorites to take the top two podium places. At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, Huihua secured the gold medal while Zhihui had to settle for the silver medal.

However, at the 2020 Asian Championships the positions were reversed for the two. Zhihui won the gold with a total lift of 213kg and Huihua won the silver with a total lift of 207kg.

Can Mirabai Chanu go all the way?

As things stand, Mirabai is a challenger for the bronze medal along with American Jourdan Delacruz. The top two podium places are for the Chinese duo to lose. The two hold a clear advantage over the rest of the field.

If Mirabai Chanu has to improve on her forgetful Rio Olympics outing and genuinely contend for a silver or even a gold, she needs to improve her 'snatch' lift. The pair from China easily clears the 90kg mark while Mirabai's best 'snatch' lift has been 87kg. A good 'snatch' lift, along with her already best 'clean & jerk' lifting abilities, can propel Chanu to a strong performance at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.