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Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu has expressed her excitement about the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. While speaking in an interview at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sport, she talked about how she will be competing with herself.
Chanu said, “CWG will be easy for me. I will be fighting with myself. There is not much competition in CWG, but that doesn’t mean there is no competition. I have to give my best performance keeping in mind the future tournaments.”
She then addressed how is planning to compete in the 120kg category as she said, “I am thinking of attempting 120kg in the CWG.” She then also stressed the fact that she wants to breach the much-anticipated 90kg mark in the snatch section, which she admits has been rather a mental block. She said, “Yes (it has become a mental block). We have planned to lift 91kg or 92kg at the CWG. Hopefully, it will happen.”
Chanu opened up about the struggles with a shoulder imbalance when one tries to lift a weight double their own. She said, “My back became stiff (tight) 2-3 days before going. The journey to Nagrota was also five hours. We went from Patiala to Chandigarh a day before the tournament, then took a flight from Chandigarh, which was also late. So the back became more tight.”.
“I haven’t gone above 88kg. That is the weight I have set. But training-wise right now I am better placed than I was at the Olympics. To lift 90kg in a competition, we set the weight between 80-90kg which we lift consistently every day. It’s not like we lift 90kg every day,” she explained.
Earlier my movement was not synchronised. Now I have changed it: Chanu
The 27-year-old also addressed how she has been working on altering her technique in the snatch section. She said, “I have changed my snatch technique. In snatch, while rising, the toes, back and shoulder should be in a line. Back and shoulders are very important they need to move fast. Earlier my movement was not synchronised. Now I have changed it.”
“Yes, I feel if not one, then in the other I have to improve. To reach 96kg, it will take some time and it will be a little difficult for me. 93kg-94kg I can reach. If I perform well in clean and jerk I can get the same total (as the Chinese) or even more,” she continued.