Mirabai Chanu's return to the World Weightlifting Championships ended before she lifted a barbell on Thursday. India's Olympic silver medallist did not start in the women's 53kg competition at the IWF World Championships in Ningbo, China, with PTI reporting that she pulled out because of back pain.
Source: PTI via Apex Sports News
Awaaz Punjab reported on October 27 that Chanu would lead India's campaign in Ningbo in the new 53kg Olympic weight class. Thursday's withdrawal is the new development in that story: she was listed in Group B with an entry total of 200kg but never took the platform. Read the earlier story
The championships' live reporting independently confirms that Chanu, who was listed in the start book for Group B, did not appear on the platform, and the official 53kg results list her as 'did not start'. The live report noted that no reason had been announced at the time it was written; the back-pain explanation comes from PTI's reporting.
Source: Fygster Media live report, IWF World Championships Ningbo
Gyaneshwari Yadav finishes eighth for India
With Chanu out, India's result in the 53kg class came from Gyaneshwari Yadav. The 23-year-old from Chhattisgarh lifted a total of 198kg — 88kg in the snatch and 110kg in the clean and jerk — to top Group C and finish eighth overall, ahead of several lifters from Groups A and B, PTI reported. Her personal best in the class is 199kg.
China's Zhang Haiqin won the 53kg title with 221kg. Ulrey of the United States took silver with 220kg, and North Korea's Kim So Hyon took bronze with 214kg, according to the championship reporting. PTI noted that seven lifters managed 90kg or more in the snatch — a mark Chanu has been chasing for more than six years.
Why the 53kg class matters
Ningbo was to have been Chanu's first World Championships in the 53kg class, the lowest women's weight division in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic programme after the 49kg class in which she won silver at the Tokyo Olympics was dropped. The Ningbo championships, running from October 27 to November 8, are the first qualifying event on the road to LA 2028. There was no immediate word in the reports on how serious the back problem is or whether it affects her next competition.
Sources: PTI reporting published by Apex Sports News (which credits NDTV Sports and India Today); Fygster Media's live report from the IWF World Championships in Ningbo; IWF championship results for the women's 53kg.