India opened its medals account with a bang at the ongoing sixth Qatar International Cup as Former world champion weightlifter Sikhom Mirabai Chanu bagged a gold medal in the 49 kg category on Friday. India added another silver on the opening day as Jeremy Lalrinnunga won the silver medal in the men’s 67kg category.
Chanu won the yellow metal by lifting 194kg in the Olympic qualifying silver level event. These points will prove vital at the time of the final ranking of Tokyo Olympics 2020 cut are done. However, Chanu’s lift was way below her personal best score of 201kg which she lifted during this year’s World Championships in Thailand.
The former world champion could only manage one clean lift each in snatch and clean and jerk categories. Chanu hauled up 83kg in her second attempt in snatch event but failed to liftr 87kg in her final try. Whereas,in the clean and jerk section, she managed to lift 111kg in her first attempt but once again failed to heave 115kg and 116kg in her last two attempts.
In the men’s 67kg category, Lalrinnunga had to settle for silver with a total lift of 306kg. The Youth Olympic Games gold medalist stood second on the podium by lifting 140kg in snatch and 166kg in clean and jerk.
According to the guidelines, to qualify for the quadrennial event to be held in Tokyo, a weightlifter will have to compete in minimum of one event in each of the three periods spread over a course of six months from November 2018 to April 2020. The weightlifter will have to compete in at least six events overall which should include at least one gold and silver level event.
Chanu won gold at the World Weightlifting Championships last year by lifting nearly four times more than her weight of 48 kg. She became the first Indian woman to do so in the last 22 years.
