In a heart-wrenching turn of events, Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu narrowly missed out on an Olympic medal, finishing fourth in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Competing in her third Olympics, Chanu’s performance was commendable, but she fell just outside the podium places in a tightly contested battle.
Mirabai Chanu’s performance
Mirabai lifted a total of 199kg (88kg snatch + 111kg clean and jerk). China’s Hou Zhihui successfully defended her title with an overall lift of 206kg (89kg snatch + 117kg clean and jerk).
Hou Zhihui dramatically beat reigning European champion Mihaela Cambei of Romania on the final attempt at the event. Surodchana Khambao of Thailand secured the bronze medal with a combined lift of 200kg (88kg snatch + 112kg clean and jerk).
Chanu began with an 85kg lift but faced disappointment with an unsuccessful 88kg attempt. Her final snatch attempt matched her personal best of 88kg, a national record. After a scare with a failed 111kg lift, Mirabai aced it on her second attempt, climbing to second place alongside Hou Zhihui. Despite her valiant efforts, she missed the podium by a whisker, finishing fourth.
India's shinning star @mirabai_chanu narrowly missed Olympic – Medal in Weightlifting (49kg) by small margin and come 4th at #Paris2024 but we are very proud of your achievements & always proud of you ! #Cheer4Bharat 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/NyrwKGSeQI
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 7, 2024
This marks India’s sixth fourth-place finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics, adding to the near misses in archery, badminton, and shooting. Mirabai Chanu, who secured India’s only weightlifting quota for the event, remains a resilient athlete, vowing to work harder for future competitions.
