Mirabai Chanu clinches silver at World Championship despite wrist pain
Bogota (Colombia)(PTI): Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu endured wrist pain to grab a silver medal at the World Championships and in the process beat Tokyo Olympics champion Hou Zhihua, here.
The Tokyo Olympic silver medallist, competing in the 49kg category, managed to lift 87kg in snatch and in 113kg in 'clean and jerk' for an overall effort of 200kg here on Tuesday night. The Indian finished behind China's Jiang Huihua, who won the gold with a total effort of 206kg (93kg+113kg) while her compatriot Zhihua took home the bronze medal with a total lift of 198kg (89kg+109kg).
It is Manipuri lifter's second medal at the World Championships, having won a gold in 2017.
"It's an emotionally proud moment for me to bring another world championship medal back home after five long years. The competition at the world championship is always intense with the best Olympian competing to at the highest level," said Mirabai after winning the medal.
"I had a wrist pain but I am always ready to push myself to cross the line for my country....I hope I'll be able to give India more of such moments preferably a Gold at the Asian Games and Paris Olympics as well," she added.
Chanu, who hurt her wrist during a training session in September, had competed in the National Games with the injury in October.
"We couldn't do much (about the injury) because we didn't want to skip the World Championships. Now, we will focus on her wrist because we have a lot of time before the next event," India's head coach Vijay Sharma told PTI.
"We were not taking any pressure for this event. This is the weight Mira lifts regularly. From now we will start increasing the weights and improving.
"Seeing Mira I believe we are on the right track and she is definitely going to only work harder to bring out her A- game in the upcoming Asian Games and the Olympics."
While the 11-lifter field was highly competitive, most lifters refrained from stretching themselves. Zhihua even skipped her final clean and jerk attempt to settle for bronze.
Competing in her first international tournament since winning a gold at the Commonwealth Games, Chanu had an underwhelming snatch session. She started with an 84kg lift but her second attempt of 87kg was deemed a no lift.
Expectedly, Chanu didn't go for the much-awaited 90kg lift. In her final attempt, the 28-year-old, who had her wrist bandaged, wobbled a little but was able to hoist the 87kg barbell, which is a kilogram less than her personal best in the section.
Fifth after the snatch section, Chanu set the highest clean and jerk entry weight but her first attempt of 111kg was deemed a no lift as her left elbow wobbled a little.
The Indian camp challenged the decision but the judges upheld it.
However, Chanu, the world record holder in the category, succeeded in her final two attempts of 111kg and 113 kg to collect the overall and clean and jerk silver. He also took silver in snatch category.
Medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift in continental and World Championships. But, just one medal for total lift is awarded in the Olympics. India have four more lifters in the fray. S Bindiyrani Devi (59kg), Chanambam Rishikanta Singh (61kg), Achinta Sheuli (73kg) and Gurdeep Singh (+109kg) will compete in their respective categories.
The 2022 World Championship is the first qualifying event for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where weightlifting events will be cut from 14 at Tokyo Games to 10.
However, it is an additional event and not a compulsory one.
Under the 2024 Olympic qualification rule, a lifter has to compulsorily compete in the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup.
Apart from the above, the lifter also has to participate in three of the following events -- the 2022 World Championships, the 2023 Continental Championships, the 2023 Grand Prix 1, the 2023 Grand Prix II and the 2024 Continental Championships.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will publish the Olympic Qualification Rating (OQR) of each weight category at the end of the qualification period.
A weightlifter's best three performances at the qualifying events will be taken into account for final assessment.
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Minister Patil chairs industry meetings to chart growth for key sectors in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Tuesday chaired meetings with industry representatives from the aerospace and defence, machine tools, auto/EV, and green energy sectors to discuss sector growth and government support measures.
The meetings were attended by leading industrialists and their representatives, with some participating virtually.
Speaking on the occasion, the minister for Large and Medium Industries said Karnataka is at the forefront of the country’s aerospace and defence sectors.
He noted that Suzuki and Toyota plan to launch aerial taxi services in Japan by 2028, with Bengaluru-based Sasmos supplying electrical equipment for the project.
Industrialists suggested introducing similar “fly-taxi” services in Karnataka through an appropriate policy, which Patil said would be examined seriously.
The minister highlighted the need to establish testing centres and Common Facility Centres for the aerospace and defence industries and assured that these facilities would be provided.
Suggestions were also made to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for sector growth.
Karnataka has urged the Central Government to approve Defence Corridor projects in the Bengaluru North–Kolar–Chikkaballapur and Dharawada–Vijayapura–Belagavi regions.
Industrialists also suggested a corridor between Bengaluru and Mysuru, Patil said.
He said Karnataka aims to become a hub for defence electronics manufacturing, with plans to establish a 200-acre Defence Electronics Park and a 100-acre Avionics and Sensor Park.
These projects will be implemented once the Special Investment Region is operational, and land availability will not be an issue.
On the machine tools sector, Patil said the industry has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 36,500 crore and is witnessing steady growth.
Large-scale exhibitions have increased demand, and the state must strengthen its capabilities to develop control systems for heavy machinery. One testing unit is already operational in Bengaluru, with another planned for Tumakuru. Expansion of vocational training institutes in industrial areas is also underway.
In the Auto and EV sector, Vision Group members highlighted the need for a network of dry ports and more EV charging stations across the state.
Patil noted that the Tata Group is manufacturing EV buses in Dharawada for nationwide supply. Plans for mini excavator production and export facilitation were also discussed, along with the establishment of a testing facility for two-wheeler EVs.
For the Green Energy sector, the group emphasised the need for a suitable policy on battery-based energy storage and the establishment of data centres.
Patil assured that the government will seriously consider all suggestions and respond positively.
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