Paris [France], August 8 : India's Mirabai Chanu on Wednesday missed out on a medal by a whisker after securing a fourth-place finish in the women's weightlifting 49kg event at the Paris Olympics.
China's Hou Zhihui defended her gold medal by scripting a remarkable comeback towards the end. She snatched the gold with a combined effort of 206kg. Romania's Mihaela Valentina Cambei claimed the silver with a combined total of 205 kg. Thaliand's Surodchana Khambao settled for the bronze with a combined total of 200kg.
For Chanu and India, it was another fourth-place finish in Paris after narrowly missing out on a medal with a combined total of 199kg.
The first was the snatch event, where a weightlifter has to pick up the barbell and lift it above their head in one singular motion. The second was the clean-and-jerk event, where a weightlifter is required to pick up the barbell and bring it up to their chest (clean) and then extend their arms and legs to lift it above the head (jerk) with a straight elbow. The weightlifters have to hold it there until a buzzer is sounded.
Chanu, who secured a silver medal in the 49kg category at the Tokyo Olympics, stepped up to get India its fourth medal in Paris.
The chants of "India" started to erupt in the arena, hinting at the arrival of Chanu in the snatch event. In her first attempt, with a confident smile, she successfully lifted 85kg. Chanu had a go at 88kg in her second attempt and failed to pull it off.
After the attempt, she passed on a couple of words to her coach. She stepped out for her third attempt and received a resounding applause after completing 88kg. A red light popped up, which meant her attempt went in review.
In the clean-and-jerk event, she tried to go for 111kg on her first try, but the bar came crashing down. She went for 111kg on her second attempt and recorded a successful lift. In her third and final attempt, Chanu went for 114kg. She powered through the clean but couldn't lift the bar over her head. Chanu came close, but her run in the Paris Olympics concluded with the fourth position.
The Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Zhihui, who successfully defended her gold, registered 89kg in her second attempt after failing in the first. She once again registered a failed attempt after trying to lift 93kg. In the clean-and-jerk event, she lifted 117kg in her final attempt, an Olympic record to take away the gold.
Romania's Mihaela Valentina Cambei, who settled for the silver medal, was the first to enter the 90kg mark in the snatch event. She lifted 89kg on her first attempt, she raised the bar by lifting 91kg on the second attempt and broke her personal best attempt of 92kg with a successful 93kg lift in her third attempt.
While in the second event, she raised the bar with a sensational performance. However, it wasn't enough to get her hands on the gold. She was in the lead after lifting 112kg to take her combined total to 205kg. She was in the lead before Zhihui made a resounding comeback at the end.
Thailand's Surodchana Khambao began the first lift of her Olympic debut with a successful 86kg in her first attempt and 88kg in her third.
She went for a combined total of 200kg in her second attempt in the clean-and-jerk event. She raised the bar over her head successfully to take away the bronze.
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