Jinju (Korea): Indian weightlifter Bindyarani Devi was quick to make amends after an underwhelming performance in snatch section as she clinched an overall silver in the women’s 55kg competition at the Asian Championships here on Saturday.
The Commonwealth Games silver medallist had a total effort of 194kg (83kg+111kg), as she opened India’s medal tally in this edition of the championship.
She also won the silver in the clean and jerk section. However, the medals are in a non-Olympic weight category.
The Manipuri had two failed lifts — one each in snatch and clean jerk. But a gold medal would have been out of her grasp even if she had completed those two lifts.
Chen Guan Ling of Chinese Taipei won the gold with a 204kg (90kg+114kg) effort while Vietnam’s Vo Thi Quynh Nhu 192kg (88kg+104kg) bagged the bronze in a depleted field.
The top lifters in 55kg have either bulked up or moved down weight classes in order to qualify for the Paris Games next year.
Bindyarani started off nicely, executing her first two snatch attempts of 80kg and 83kg with relative ease but her 85kg try was deemed a no lift. Her personal best in snatch is 86kg.
Placed fourth after the snatch event, the Manipuri covered ground by lifting the second highest weight in clean and jerk.
She, then, unsuccessfully, tried to improve her total with a 115kg lift. She had lifted 116kg at the Birmingham CWG last year.
The Manipuri was forced to switch back to her original 55kg weight division for this event due to an injury she sustained ahead of the selection trials.
She had moved to the 59kg weight class, that features in the Paris Olympics, during last year’s World Championships, where she finished 25th.
PTI

Press Trust of India