Training in USA has been very beneficial, admits Mirabai Chani

Following the disappointment of the 2016 Rio Olympics, where Mirabai Chanu was disqualified after failed lifts, she has made a strong comeback, having claimed top honours at the 2017 World Championships in Anaheim and a similar result at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. However, it is the 2021 Tokyo Olympics that will give her a reality check.

However, the covid-19 lockdown in 2020 has been a major roadblock for the athlete, with inadequate training during the period. However, she managed to script a world record in the ‘clean and jerk’ event at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships, in Tashkent, last month.

Even though she was nervous and even failed to complete the first two lifts in the ‘snatch’ section, Mirabai, eventually ended the campaign on a high. The Tokyo-bound athlete credits her training stint in the USA, in late 2020, for the recent results, with her stating how she improved under the guidance of weightlifter-turned-strength and conditioning coach Dr Aaron Horschig.

“I have improved a lot under his guidance. The exercises he gives are different and focuses on the overall body. This has been very beneficial. Earlier if I had a heavy day in training, I was not able to do it the next day because of tightness in my body,” said Mirabai Chanu, as reported by Scroll.