Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu came tantalisingly close to clinching a second Olympic medal but a faltered lift in her final attempt cruelly snatched the dream from her grasp, leaving her with a fourth place finish in the women’s 49kg event here on Wednesday.
Mirabai, who turns 30 on Thursday, lifted a total of 199kg (88kg+111kg) at the South Paris Arena. It was 3kgs less than what she heaved at the Tokyo Olympics (202 kg) for a silver medal.
Mirabai could manage only three lifts out of six attempts. She had only one successful lift in the clean and jerk section.
The former world champion had done well to keep herself in medal contention after the snatch event but her failure to lift 114kg in her final clean and jerk attempt cost her dearly.