Mirabai Chanu wins gold in Singapore, qualifies for CWG in new 55kg weight division
Singapore(PTI): Star Indian lifter Mirabai Chanu qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 55kg weight category on Friday by clinching the gold in the Singapore Weightlifting International here.
Competing in the 55kg weight class for the first time, Chanu lifted 191kg (86kg+105kg) to stand on top of the podium in an uncompetitive field.
The second placed lifter -- Australia's Jessica Sewastenko's best effort was 167kg (77kg+90kg), a whopping 24kg less than Chanu's.
Elly Cassandra Englebert of Malaysia finished third with a best effort of 165kg (75kg+90kg).
The other three Indian lifters competing on day one of the event -- Sanket Sagar (55kg), Rishikanta Singh (55kg) and Bindyarani Devi (59kg)-- also sealed Commonwealth Games berths.
Having pulled out of the world championships in December, this was Chanu's first competitive event since the historic Tokyo Games performance last July, when she bagged India's first silver medal in weightlifting at the Olympics.
7 months of intense training and my never ending love for the sport continues to pay off as I qualify for the @CWG2022 in the 55kg and 49kg category, Chanu said after the win.
I would like to extend my thanks to our Ministry of Youth and Affairs, Weightlifting Federation of India, SAI and all the other stakeholders who have helped me reach here, she added.
Chanu had pulled out of the world championship to work on a new snatch technique and head coach Vijay Sharma was delighted to see the progress the Manipuri has made in the section, which was once considered her weakness.
She comfortably lifted 81kg, 84kg and 86kg in her three snatch attempts here.
"We had been working on her snatch technique. And I am happy with the results, she has shown good progress in snatch these past seven months," Sharma told PTI over the phone from Singapore.
The 27-year-old Chanu has also qualified for the CWG in the 49kg weight category on the basis of her Commonwealth rankings.
However, to maximise India's chances of winning more golds at the CWG, it is expected that Chanu will compete in the new 55kg weight division.
Sagar created new Commonwealth and national records in clean and jerk and total lift on his way to gold in the men's 55kg event.
He lifted 256kg (113kg +143kg), edging out compatriot silver medallist Rishikanta, who had a best effort of 246kg (110kg+136kg).
Sri Lanka's Dilanka Isuru Kumara took home the bronze in the event as he heaved 238kg (106kg+132kg).
Commonwealth Championships silver medallist Bindyarani bagged India's third gold of the day. Bindyarani lifted 196kg (85kg+111kg) in the women's 59kg competition to win the yellow metal in the five lifter-field.
Australians Brenna Kean 190kg (82kg+108kg) and Tori Gallegos 183kg (80kg+103kg) won the silver and bronze medals respectively. Bindyarani had competed in the 55kg weight division in the Commonwealth Championships in December.
The Singapore Weightlifting International is a qualifying event for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The top eight lifters in each weight category in the ongoing tournament will directly qualify for the 2022 CWG.
Six months of intense training and my never ending love for the sport continues to pay off as I qualify for the @CWG2022 🏋️♀️ I would like to extend my thanks to our @IndiaSports Weightlifting Federation of India @Media_SAI@OGQ_India & all the other stakeholders. 🙏#RoadToCWG22 pic.twitter.com/j7ojo14iHj
— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) February 25, 2022
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
