Phuket, April 2: Commonwealth Games medalist weightlifter Bindyarani Devi clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 55kg event at the IWF World Cup on Tuesday.
Competing in a non-Olympic weight class, the 25-year-old lifted a total of 196kg (83 kg + 113 kg) to claim the last spot on the podium.
However, it was an underwhelming display by the Manipuri lifter, who had won the CWG silver in Birmingham with a total effort of 203kg in 2022.
The Indian could manage three legal lifts in her six attempts, and her total was a whopping 38kg less than that of North Korea’s Kang Hyon Gyong, who won the gold medal for her effort of 234kg (103 kg + 131 kg).
Romania’s Cambei Mihaela-Valentina, who qualified for the Paris Olympics in Mirabai Chanu’s 49kg weight class, took home the silver with a personal best effort of 201kg (91 kg + 110 kg).
Bindyarani also bagged the silver medal in the clean and jerk section for her 113kg lift. Medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift in continental, World Cups, and World Championships.
Despite her medal-winning performance at the final Olympic qualifying event, Bindyarani is out of contention for the Paris Games.
She had moved up to the 59kg weight class that features in the Paris Olympics and competed in the 2022 world championships in that category, finishing 25th. But she switched back to her old 55kg weight division, in which she won an Asian Championship silver last year.
She is currently ranked 29th in the 59kg Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) and is out of reckoning as the top 10 lifters in each weight class will qualify for the Paris Games.
