Asian Weightlifting Championships 2021: Mirabai Chanu sets new World Record in women's 49kg Clean and Jerk
Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter who has regularly competed in the 48kg category. She is a two-time gold medalist, including a World Championships win. Besides, she also has a sliver and a couple of bronze to her name. She has competed in the Olympics once.
In another proud moment for India, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has raised the bar again. The 26-year-old Imphal-based weightlifter has created a new world record in clean and jerk.
Competing at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, Chanu managed to lift an 86kg barbell in snatch. It thus created a world record of clean and jerk 119kg in a total of 205kg.
The previous world record happened to be 118kg, while Chanu's best was 203kg (88kg+115kg), which she attained during the National Championships in 2020. With this win, she clinched silver at the Championships, while China's Hou Zhihui won the gold and her national compatriot Jiang Huihua claimed silver.
Besides, Chanu has managed to seal her spot in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. It would be her second appearance in the global event after 2016, where she failed to finish after she was unable to lift any of the weights in the given three attempts.
Meanwhile, Indian Sports Minister, Kiren Rijiju, hailed Chanu's record-breaking performance. "In her first international competition in more than a year, @mirabai_chanu makes a new national record of 205 kgs at the Asian Championships and won bronze medal. Her perfect clean and jerk lift of 119 kg is a new world record! Target Olympic Podium Mirabai!" he wrote on Twitter.