India’s disastrous defeat at the 2024 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Mahama, Bahrain ended without a medal on Tuesday.
Ditimoni Sonowal, the third and final Indian weightlifter to participate in the event, finished fifth in Group C of the women’s 64kg category and 23rd overall.
Weightlifters are divided into three groups depending on their starting weight. The 12 athletes with the highest starting weight will be in Group A.
Ditimoni lifted a total of 204kg (89kg snatch + 115kg clean and jerk), just 6kg shy of her personal best of 210kg.
Later that day, Risok of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea won the gold medal in the 64kg class with a lift of 264kg (115kg snatch + 149kg clean and jerk). Compatriot Lim Eun Shim won the silver medal with 256kg (116kg+140kg), and Li Shuang of the People’s Republic of China won the bronze medal with 241kg (107kg+134kg).
In the snatch event, 21-year-old Ditimoni Sonowal lifted 86kg on her first attempt and 89kg on her second attempt. He also took a shot in the 92kg class, but couldn’t make it.
After successfully lifting 115 kg in the clean and jerk, Ditimoni Sonowal increased the weight to 119 kg in her next two attempts. However, she failed both lifts and finished with a total weight of 204kg.
Besides Ditimoni Sonowal, India’s World Championship squad had two female weightlifters, Gyaneshwari Yadav and Binjalani Devi. Neither reached the podium.
In the women’s 49kg category on Saturday, Gyaneshwari Yadav lifted 182kg and placed fifth, while Binjalani Devi placed ninth in the women’s 55kg category.
Mirabai Chanu, who missed the weightlifting competition to focus on long-term rehabilitation, becomes the last Indian to win a medal at the event. She won a gold medal in 2017 and a silver medal in 2022.
