World Championship and Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu will spearhead India’s campaign in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships (CWC), to be held in Ahmedabad from August 23 to 31.
The event will act as a major qualifying event for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Glasgow next year.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai, who had a disappointing fourth-place finish in Paris 2024, trained with physiotherapist Aaron Horschig in the USA for three weeks in September last before focusing on her recovery and training, especially on snatch in her quest to achieve the 90kg mark, at Modinagar.
ALSO READ | Mirabai Chanu: My target is still 90kg, have tweaked my snatch technique
India has picked 16 lifters (apart from four reserves), including eight men and as many women, for the CWC following the selection trials.
The winner in each weight category at the CWC will earn a quota place for the CWG.
Most of the lifters selected in the team are likely to participate in the World championships to be held in Forde, Norway, in October.
The team:
Men:
60kg: Chanambam Rishikanta Singh; 65kg: Muthupandi Raja; 71kg: Narayana Ajith; 79kg: Valluri Ajaya Babu and Achinta Sheuli (reserve); 88kg: Ajay Singh; 94kg: Dilbag Singh; 110kg: Harcharan Singh; +110kg: Lovepreet Singh.
Women:
48kg: Saikhom Mirabai Chanu; 53kg: Sneha Soren and Gyaneshwari Yadav (reserve); 58kg: Sorokhaibam Bindyarani Devi and Rima Bhoi (reserve); 63kg: Seram Nirupama Devi; 69kg: Harjinder Kaur and Sanapathi Pallavi (reserve); 77kg: Harmanpreet Kaur; 86kg: Vanshita Verma; +86kg: Mehak Sharma.
