Indian weightlifters at Asian Games

Where does India stand in weightlifting in the Asian Games?

This question assumes importance in view of the sense of “well being” in the sport often caused by the success of our weightlifters at the Commonwealth Games.

India took three gold, five silver and six bronze medals in the Glasgow Games. Since the Asian Games follows the CWG, there is generally some mention of weightlifting in its aftermath though everyone knows Asian standards are tough.

But how tough are they? Where exactly do Indians figure in Asian weightlifting? These questions are worth looking into in the immediate context of the Incheon Games.

Malleswari the last medal winner for India

India has never won a gold medal in Asian Games weightlifting championships! We haven’t won a medal in weightlifting in the Asian Games since Karnam Malleswari took the silver in the 63kg class in Bangkok in 1998.

The last Indian male to win a weightlifting medal in the Games was G. Muthuswamy in the 52kg division in 1986. He claimed the bronze.

So what are the chances of a medal this time if at all there is some?

The Government has cleared a batch of four men and three women. If one applies the ‘sixth-place’ standard then Satish Kumar Sivalingam (77kg) alone makes it among men and Saikom Mirabhai Chanu and Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham (both 48kg) among women.

Sukhen Dey, champion in Glasgow in the 56kg class with a total lift of 248kg, is 7kg short of the sixth place standard of the 2010 Asian Games if his current performance is taken into consideration. He is, however, only one kilogram less compared to the 255kg criterion if we take his best performance of 2013, that of 254kg at the Commonwealth championships at Penang, a fact that must have clinched a place for him in the Government-approved team. That performance placed him at joint 15th in the world rankings for 2013.

The dampener comes when we look at the lifters from Asia ahead of Dey. In the 2013 rankings there are eight other Asians above the Indian. This does not, however, mean that all those lifters could be competing in the 56kg category in Incheon.

Sivalingam's phenomenal improvement

Sivalingam’s improvement from his Asian championships performance (309kg) at Glasgow was phenomenal as he added 19kg to that for a total of 328kg to win the gold in the 77kg division. The Asian championships 6th place having gone for 326kg, the Tamil Nadu lifter just managed to better the criterion for the Incheon Games.

That was something that K. Ravi Kumar, the most experienced Indian lifter, could not do in the same weight class.  He had a total of 317kg for the silver in Glasgow. Ravi Kumar has been approved in the latest team, probably because of his experience.

With his 328kg, if inserted into the 2013 rankings (he had 317kg for an overall placing of 40th in the world rankings in 2013), Sivaligam will figure in the top 10 in Asia. The gold at the last Asian Games went for 348kg, bronze for 310kg. But the gold at the last Asian championships was won with 366kg and the bronze with 355kg. Totals can vary considerably from meet to meet.

Vikas Thakur in the 85kg class is also well behind his nearest rivals in Asia. At the last Asian Games the sixth place total happened to be 365kg while Thakur’s silver medal at Glasgow came at 333kg. In the 2013 rankings he is 10th among the Asians with a tally of 322kg. The standards were rather poor at the last Asian championships with the gold being won at 340kg and the bronze at 325kg.

Since the 2014 rankings are sketchy, not all the lifters are shown in the rankings. The real strength of the field in Incheon would only be known once entries are confirmed for each weight category.

There is also always the question of doping in this sport. Performances vary considerably depending on this aspect.  The unpredictable factor will thus hinge on anti-doping measures in the run-up to the Games.

Women's chances

In the women’s section, India’s entries in the 48kg class, Sanjita Chanu Khumukcham, Commonwealth Games gold medallist (173kg), and Saikhom Mirabhai Chanu, CWG silver medallist (170kg),  do make the grade of 6th place standard (158kg) and might even have a medal chance depending on the field. The gold and silver went for 190kg and 176kg at this year’s Asian championships.

Entry restrictions for the total number of athletes a country can field in either the men or women’s section will limit entries from China in certain categories thus leaving the rest of the field with a better opportunity to grab medals.