Former world champion Mirabai Chanu clinched a bronze medal at the Asian Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Chanu set a new world record in clean and jerk while also bettering her own national record to finish on the podium in a tough field.
The former world champion from Manipur set the right tone in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics.
Mirabai Chanu lifted 86kg in snatch and a world record of 119kg in clean and jerk for a total of 205kg. She also confirmed her Tokyo Olympic spot as she has now competed in the six mandatory qualifying events.
In her first international competition in more than a year, @mirabai_chanu makes a new national record of 205 kgs at the Asian Championships and won bronze medal. Her perfect clean and jerk lift of 119 kg is a new world record!
Target Olympic Podium Mirabai! pic.twitter.com/ohOSOWZ94P— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) April 18, 2021
While the earlier clean and jerk world record was 118kg, Chanu’s personal best total in 49kg was 203kg (88kg+115kg) at the National Championship in February last year.
The gold medal went to Hou Zhihui of China who created a new world record in snatch and total weight with an effort of 213kg (96g+117kg) while her compatriot Jiang Huihua clinched the silver, lifting 207kg (89kg+118kg) in the gold level Olympic qualifier.
Chanu was off to a shaky start as she failed to lift 85kg in her first two snatch attempts.
The diminutive Manipuri then lifted 86kg in her final attempt. However, she finished fourth best, behind Zhihui (96kg), Huihua (89kg) and Aisah Windy Cantika (87kg) of Indonesia.