Mirabai Chanu To Compete At Paris Olympics 2024 Today: Who Are The Players She Has To Beat For A Weightlifting Medal?

As Saikhom Mirabai Chanu gears up for her big competition tonight, let us take a look at who the reigning Commonwealth Games champion and Olympic silver medalist will be competing against to win the silver or bronze medal if she either matches or exceeds her previous personal records, lifting 88kg in the snatch and 115kg in the clean and jerk, potentially setting new benchmarks for herself in the process.

Mirabai won gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and secured silver at both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 World Championships.

Mirabai Chanu’s Competition At Women’s 49kg Weightlifting In Paris Olympics 2024

If Mirabai Chanu wins tonight, she’ll be the first weightlifter from India to win two Olympic medals. Go through the profiles of her competitors.

China's Hou Zhihui

Image Credits: AP

The Olympic medalist, a world champion and a two-time Asian champion of the women’s 49 kg category, China’s Hou Zhihui stands at number 132 in IWF’s World Rankings while Chanu stands at 319. She became a record-holder as she lifted a total weight of 210 kg at the Tokyo Olympics while Chanu won a silver medal at the game for lifting a total weight of 202 kg.

USA’s Jourdan Delacruz

USA’s Jourdan Delacruz is a cheerleader-turned-weightlifter who won gold at the Pan American Championships last year. The 23-year-old weightlifter’s Olympic debut took a heartbreaking turn when she was unable to complete a successful clean and jerk lift in any of her attempts, abruptly ending her competition and leaving her with a disappointing conclusion to her inaugural Games at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. In an interview, she said, “You have these expectations of what you think the Olympics is going to be like, and then Tokyo was just so unique. No one could prepare me for that… My experience in Tokyo was heartbreaking. It felt a little bit like I climbed all the way up to the top of the mountain and then fell back down. Going to Paris, I thought I was going to have to start over. But I've learned that my experience in Tokyo is just a part of my journey.”

Thailand's Surodchana Khambao

Image Credits: Thai Amateur Weightlifting Association

Thailand's Surodchana Khambao, who achieved a fifth-place finish in the women’s 53 kg category at the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Game as she started her journey, has many accolades to her name. This year, she’s competing against Chanu in her first-ever Olympics.

Romania's Mihaela Cambei

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Sharing the news of Mihaela Cambei from Romania qualifying for a competing spot at the Paris Olympics 2024, on Instagram, EWF wrote, “At just 21, Mihaela is already a 2-time European champion in the 49kg category. She’s heading to the Olympics for the first time, and she’s aiming for a medal. Mihaela also won a 🥉 medal at the Youth Olympics in 2018 in Buenos Aires. Join us in cheering for Mihaela as she prepares to shine on the biggest stage at Paris 2024! 🏋️‍♀️”

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