Commonwealth Games: A Happy Hunting Ground For Indian Weightlifters

A new rule prevented India from rejigging the weight categories of its lifters for maximum advantage but country's 15-strong contingent, headlined by Mirabai Chanu, is still expected to return with a bagful of medals from the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth tournaments, be it the CWG or the Commonwealth Championships, have been a happy hunting ground for Indian weightlifters, who revel in the absence of traditional powerhouses like China and North Korea.

India have finished as the best-performing nation in the sport in the 1990, 2002, and 2018 editions. They are the second most successful nation in the sport with 125 medals, including 43 golds, behind Australia (159), whose dominance has taken a hit in the last few editions. Indian weightlifters reigned supreme in the 2018 Gold Coast Games, bringing home a rich haul of nine medals including five golds. And this year too, all 15 lifters are capable of podium finishes.

However, only a handful of them are expected to strike gold. To increase India's chances of winning more gold medals in the women's events, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) and head coach Vijay Sharma planned to field Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Chanu, a sure-shot title contender, in the 55kg weight division.

Jhilli Dalabehera and S Bindyarani Devi were to compete in the 49kg and 59kg respectively while Poppy Hazarika would have presented her challenge in the 64kg division.

But the entries were rejected based on a new rule that stated only the top-ranked lifter in a category will qualify for the CWG and if he/she withdraws, the next best lifter will not get the berth, as was the case before.  This forced Chanu (49kg), Bindyarani (55kg), and Poppy (59kg) to drop back a weight