With no Chinese lifter in the fray in the women’s 49kg category, Mirabai — who .
According to chief coach Vijay Sharma, seasoned North Korean Ri Song Gum, Thailand’s Kaeosingkhon Suthasini and Taiwan’s Fang Wan-ling will be Mirabai’s main competitors. Since Ri is a notch above the rest, the 32-year-old Mirabai needs to beat the other two in a field of eight to break the jinx.
“Anything around a 200kg total would get us a medal. A medal is our target, not the total,” Sharma told The Hindu.
Mirabai promptly resumed training after winning gold in Glasgow in July. “She needed to train as she was troubled by shoulder and wrist injuries after the National championships in February. Now, we are not overloading her and playing it safe. The focus is on her fitness,” said Sharma.
The coach added that the three other women lifters in the Indian squad — Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg), Nirupama Devi (61kg) and Harjinder Kaur (69kg) — would try to achieve their personal bests.
Rishikanta (60kg), the lone male weightlifter in the Indian squad, will not compete in Japan. “He has been carrying the injury for some time. He managed to claim the Commonwealth Games silver despite the injury. But he will not be able to take part in the Asian Games,” said Sharma.