Indian women weightlifters finish in top 10 at Asian Championships, boost chances of Olympic qualification

Tashkent (Uzbekistan): Indian women weightlifters finished in top 10 in their respective weight categories at the Senior Asian Championships here to brighten the country’s chances of booking Olympic quota places. The ongoing Senior Asian Weightlifting Championships is an qualification event for the Rio Games, to be held in August. The qualification berth will be finalised on April 30 after the conclusion of the championship. [caption id=“attachment_2753076” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File picture of Mirabai Chanu Saikhom (L) and Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham (C). AFP[/caption] Glasgow silver medallist Punam Yadav (63kg) bagged the sixth position, while bronze medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sagolsem Thasana Chanu (58kg) finished at seventh place each. 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sanjita Chanu also did well in the women’s 48kg to end at ninth spot. Mirabai Chanu came up with a power-packed performance in 48kg as she smashed the national record in snatch with a lift of 84kg and equalling the national record in total with a overall lift of 190kg (106kg in clean &jerk) en-route to her seventh-place finish. Current coach N Kunjarani Devi holds the record (190kg) which she created during 2004 Athens Olympics. In the same category, Sanjita lifted 82kg in snatch and 102kg in clean & jerk for a total of 184kg. Punam put up an impressive performance with a total of 204kg (94+110) and Thasana lifted an overall of 187kg (83+104). However, Indian men failed to finish among top-10. Gopal Anbarasu (62kg) bagged the 12th position, while Dipak R Mahajan (56kg) and Gopal Anbarasu (62kg) ended at 14th and 15th spots respectively.