Asian Games 2018 my real test: Mirabai Chanu

NEW DELHI: Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who struck gold at the World Weightlifting Championships in November last year, has turned her focus on the two big sporting extravaganzas of the year - the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games - and has termed the latter her "real test" considering the quality of competition she faces at the quadrennial event.
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"My focus this year is on the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. I do realise that the competition at the Commonwealth Games is quite weak and the real test for me will be the Asian Games. The Chinese, Thailand, South Korean and North Korean lifters will be my main competitors," Chanu wrote in her column for TOI. "The Asian lifters are world class and this will be my real test. Thus my main focus will be on the Asian Games but that doesn’t mean I will be taking the Commonwealth Games lightly."
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Chanu, who lifted a new world record of 194kg - 85kg snatch and 109kg clean-and-jerk - to lift gold, mentioned that the guidance of coach Vijay Kumar has benefitted her lifting capacity.
"We are currently training for these events under the guidance of my coach Vijay Kumar. It is a well planned training system that has helped me improve my lifting capacity by nearly 25 kg. This was visible to me during the World Championships where I won the gold medal with a total lift of 194 kg," Chanu added.
Chanu, participating in the women's 48kg event at the Championships held in Anaheim, USA, began with a total of 85kg and then followed up with 109kg to deliver India its second gold medal since Karnam Malleswari did the country proud in 1994 and 1995.
This was a far cry from her performance at the Rio Olympics 2016, where she put up a very disappointing performance. Chanu could not even get an overall total in women's 48kg after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section.
"Anaheim, USA was the venue of the World Championships where I lifted 85kg in the snatch and 109kg in the clean and jerk. Now, in the practice session I am lifting two kg more in snatch and 1 kg more in clean and jerk. Clean and jerk has been my weak lift and I am working on this part in my training. The self confidence I gained with this win will help me in future competitions," Chanu said.
It was in September 2017 that Chanu sealed passage to the Commonwealth Games after winning gold at the Commonwealth Senior weightlifting championships held in Australia.
"We are soon off to Melbourne for our final phase of preparation for the Commonwealth Games in April. At the last edition of the event, I won the silver behind my teammate Sanjita Chanu. This time she is competing in the 53 kg category. Her shifting has diminished my competition at the national level. Two or more tough competitors in your country is always helpful to raise your own standards," Chanu mentioned.
Last month, Chanu won the Weightlifter of the Year award at the third Mahindra Scorpio Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA).