World Weightlifting Championships: Shubham Todkar finishes third in Group D; Mirabai Chanu withdraws after weighing

Indian weightlifter Shubham Todkar, making his debut at the World Weightlifting Championships, finished third in Group D of the men's 61kg event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Monday.

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Todkar, the 26-year-old national champion from Maharashtra, lifted a total of 269kg (119kg+150kg). He was six kg better than his Asian Championships effort in May (263kg). Earlier, he won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Championships in July with a lift of 259kg.

Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and former world champion Mirabai Chanu pulled out of the women's 49kg category of the World Weightlifting Championships after weighing in as per the earlier plan in Group D. Chanu did not lift weights in view of the Asian Games to be held later this month.

The World Championships 2023 is one of the two mandatory qualifying events for the Paris Olympics. Athletes must appear at the Riyadh World Weightlifting Championships meet in order to remain eligible to receive an Olympic quota for their country, even if they do not lift during the competition.

Moreover, athletes competing in the World Weightlifting Championships will have a chance to earn Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) points. This will be based on the best aggregate results (snatch + clean and jerk) achieved by the athletes during the competitions. The top 10 athletes based on the QoR, including one highest-ranked athlete per country per weight category, will receive Olympic quotas for their teams after the cycle ends in April 2024.

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Achinat Sheuli and N Ajith Kumar will play in the men's 73 kg category on 8th and 9th of September. While Bindyarani Devi will compete in the non-Olympic weight category. She won a silver medal in the women's 55 kg event at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Bindyarani moved to the Olympic-level weight category of 59 kg for the World Weightlifting Championships last year.