<p>When the weightlifting competition begins here on Saturday, Mirabai Chanu will be under pressure to complete the much anticipated 90 kg snatch lift in order to have a chance at winning the coveted Hangzhou Asian Games gold.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-213131″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-mirabai-chanu-is-under-pressure-to-lift-90-kg-in-order-to-win-the-coveted-hangzhou.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com mirabai chanu is under pressure to lift 90 kg in order to win the coveted hangzhou” width=”1206″ height=”903″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-mirabai-chanu-is-under-pressure-to-lift-90-kg-in-order-to-win-the-coveted-hangzhou.jpg 259w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/theindiaprint.com-mirabai-chanu-is-under-pressure-to-lift-90-kg-in-order-to-win-the-coveted-hangzhou-150×112.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px” title=”Mirabai Chanu is under pressure to lift 90 kg in order to win the coveted Hangzhou Asian Games gold 9″></p>
<p>However, finding the podium in the continental competition, which includes lifters from weightlifting superpowers like China, North Korea, and Thailand, won’t be an easy assignment for the Manipuri.</p>
<p>Chanu had been the leader in the 49 kg competition for a while, but the Indian is now outside the 90 kg elite club, lagging behind her competitors.</p>
<p>With a personal best of 119 kg, Chanu is still in the top three in the clean and jerk category, but her overall weight has begun to suffer as a result of her consistently subpar snatch performance.</p>
<p>Up to seven lifters have crossed the 90-kilogram threshold, and four of them—the Thai team of Thanyathon Sukcharoen and Surodchana Khambao, the two-time world champion Jiang Huihua of China, and Ri Song Gum of North Korea—will be vying for the top spot in the continental competition.</p>
<p>The world record for snatch is 96 kg, whereas Chanu’s best performance is 88 kg.</p>
<p>“At the Asian Games, we want to surpass the 90kg threshold (in snatch). We haven’t tried to cross that threshold in a long,” India’s head coach Vijay Sharma told PTI.</p>
<p>The Asian Games are the only competition in which the Manipuri have not won a medal, thus the silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics has given them priority this year.</p>
<p>She had placed tenth in the 2014 competition but was unable to compete in the 2018 Olympics because of a back issue.</p>
<p>Bindyarani Devi is the other Indian lifter competing for a podium spot in the women’s 55kg division.</p>
<p>At the Asian Championships in May, the 24-year-old came in second to Chen Guan-Ling of Chinese Taipei, who is the gold medal favorite.</p>
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