Weight shift gamble for Mirabai Chanu

Can Tokyo silver medallist make the tricky jump for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?

Bengaluru: Many in India were left a bit rattled when the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) quietly revealed the weight categories for the 2028 LA Olympics. The biggest jolt was seeing the 48kg class missing from the list; the same category where Mirabai Chanu has built her legacy and medal hopes.

With the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games both falling next year, fans instantly wondered if this one change could derail India’s best bet in women’s weightlifting.

For someone who has already adapted more than most lifters in her career, this shift felt like yet another test. The 2020 Tokyo silver medallist, and still the lone flagbearer for India at the elite  level, has now been pushed to the 53kg category. And this wasn’t the first time in a short span, having already moved from 49kg to 48 earlier after IWF updated the chart back for June 2025.

Interestingly, the one man who should’ve been as stressed about it as Mirabai, if not more, seemed the least bothered. In fact he sounded almost cheerful. Vijay Sharma, the head coach of IWLF, believes this entire situation might actually work in Mirabai’s favour.

“The move to 53kg is the best thing possible,” Sharma told DHoS. “It’s easier for Mira to gain weight now. It would have been a serious headache if we had to lose another kg instead. But before we start thinking about the move to 53kg, we have important events to compete in next year.”

That confidence sort of rubs off when the head coach calls something a blessing in disguise, you pause and think maybe he’s seeing a bigger picture.

Sharma has already chalked out Mirabai’s full plan for the 2026 season. She will continue to remain in the 48kg division through the CWG, Asiad and the World Championships. The idea is simple: Squeeze the most out of the lighter category, finish the season strong and only then begin the serious climb towards 53kg in a phased approach.

The reigning CWG champions’ qualification for Glasgow Games, happening from July 23 to August 2, was classic. She broke all three records in snatch, clean & jerk and total at the Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad earlier this year. At 31, Mirabai keeps showing up with numbers that force everyone to keep rewriting stats. And honestly this part of the journey looks smooth enough unless for any unforeseen circumstances.

The tougher assignment comes in September at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, where it gets tricky. India haven’t had a weightlifting medal at the Asian Games since 1998 when Karnam Malleswari took home a silver in the 63kg category. The 28-year long wait is down to the dominance of giants like China, Iran and North Korea. Still, if all goes as planned, Mirabai might just have one of her best shots at breaking the drought.

An important rule change helps her as the Asian Weightlifting Federation has decided to allow only one athlete per country per category. That means the teams can’t flood events with multiple contenders. Adding to that, the Games will award medals separately for snatch and clean & jerk, not just the combined total.

“We want to compete for both the medals at the Asian Games. That’s why we decided to keep her in the 48kg category for another season before moving up to 53kg,” Sharma said.

While one could only pray that Mirabai remains trouble free in this injury-ridden sport, the Manipur-born lifter also has a crucial off-season post-Asiad. Sharma acknowledges the same.

“There may not be much time for a break at the end of the next season as we have to work on building her healthy mass and improve strength,” said the Dronacharya awardee.

Sharma’s support staff, stationed at IWLF’s core camp in Modinagar, will be playing a big role during this period as a personnel of nutritionist, strength and conditioning coach and physio will have to ensure a smooth transition to the 53kg.

Experts estimate that putting on the additional kilos of lean muscle mass can take anywhere from six to nine months. For someone like Mirabai who has years of elite training behind her, the lower end of the time frame might be enough even if it’s going to be tough.

“With this increase to 53, she would gradually put on that weight because with age it’s easier to put on fat than muscle,” said Mihira Khopkar, Reliance’s lead sports nutritionist, who has worked with elite Indian lifters earlier. “Her strength-training programme becomes crucial in this aspect and good thing is Vijay has an excellent programme to build that strength. At the same time, her nutrition programme will be crucial to ensure whatever weight she gain is not fat.”

This part is honestly where the whole blessing-or-problem question becomes real. She has to bulk up but not lose her explosiveness; build strength but not compromise her speed. And she must do it while preparing to face women who grew up competing in the 53kg, some of whom dominate the world stage.

To draw a comparison, her personal best of 205kg, set in 2021 (88 snatch + 119 clean & jerk), is behind the beasts of the 53kg division. North Korea’s Kang Hyon Gong leads with a 214 (93 + 121) followed by Romania’s Mihaela Cambei (208), who also switched from 49. That’s an imposing gap, which leaves the reasonable question if she can match up to her new rivals by the time of LA Olympics at 34?

Aradhna Sharma, chief nutritionist of the Indian contingent for Paris Olympics, believes there’s still enough runway for her to make the leap.

“Two years time is good enough to strategise her weight gain and changes in technique. Logically, the gained lean muscle mass will help her lift more weight than she does now because more muscle will generate more force. For the rest, Mirabai’s skills and coaching will come into play,” she said.

So is this weight shift a blessing in disguise or a medal slipping away? Frankly, it sits somewhere in the middle. The challenge is massive but not impossible.