Hailing from the lush greenery of North-Eastern India, Bindyarani Sorokhaibam, an Indian Weightlifter secured two medals for the country in the women’s 55 kg event at the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket, Thailand.
With this achievement, Bindyarani Devi became the first Indian to win a medal at the IWF Weightlifting World Cup in the women’s 55kg event. Despite an initially challenging start in the snatch phase, she managed to triumph at the event by lifting a heavy total of 196 Kg which made her clinch the third position.
Sparkling Moments of the Event
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup 2024 is held in the beautiful province of Phuket in southern Thailand from 31 March 31 to 11 April, this World Cup will be the last chance for all the athletes to qualify for the Paris Olympics. In events like these, medals are bestowed in three different categories- snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift. In the non-Olympic women’s 55 kg category, the Manipur’s power lady hit the headlines as she unfurled the Indian flag in third position after winning a bronze medal in that event.
She struggled in the initial snatch phase after she missed it at 83 kg. Though she quickly recovered from it after successfully lifting the same weight on her second attempt, however her she failed her subsequent attempt at 86 kg. But made a commendable comeback in the clean and jerk category as Bindyarani lifted 110 kg and then increased the mark to 113 kg on her second attempt. She was unable to complete her final attempt at 119 kg but regardless of her performance she successfully overtook Jose Gallant of Canada, who totaled 194 kg, in the race for the bronze medal.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s Kang Hyon Gyong took the top spot after she won the gold medal in Phuket with a lift of 234kg, a collective of 103 kg snatch, and 131kg clean & jerk. Mihaela Cambei from Romania clinched the silver with a personal best of 201 kg (91kg + 110kg). Trailing behind them for the third position, the 25-year-old Indian athlete received a bronze medal in the total lift category with 196 kg and a shining silver medal in the clean and jerk category with 113 kg.
Powerful Display of strength & resilience but yet not enough
Bindyarani filled the hearts of all Indians with her laudable performance but still fell short of her previous achievements, such as the 2022 CWG medal-winning effort of 203kg. With her performance, the athlete reached the 29th in the 59kg Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR) which lagged behind her past achievement in the 2022 world championships in the 59kg category, where she finished 25th. With her current position in the chart, disappointingly she has been disqualified for the Olympic, as only the top 10 lifters in each weight class get the opportunity to represent their countries in the prestigious Paris Games.
