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Narayan Ajith, the current national champion, made his debut at the World Championships but failed to make a noteworthy impact. He ended up finishing in the fifth position in Group C of the men's 73kg event.
His performance left much to be desired, particularly contemplating his recent ouster from the Asian Games squad due to not fulfilling the Sports Ministry's selection benchmarks.
Despite the lapse, Ajith tended to lift 140kg in the snatch and 172kg in the clean and jerk, resulting in a total endeavour of 312kg. While this collapsed short of his target of 320kg, it marked a refinement from his earlier performances at the Asian Championships in May (307kg) and the Commonwealth Championships in July (308kg).
Weeraphon Wichuma from Thailand assured himself the top place in Group C with a total effort of 349kg. The final places will be decided after the culmination of Group A proceedings.
Ajith's voyage in the Olympic weight class didn't start smoothly, as he stuttered on his opening snatch attempt of 136kg. However, the persistent debutant came back and successfully finished five consecutive lifts.
In a corresponding context, Achinta Sheuli, the Commonwealth Games champion, partook in Group D, lifting a total of 285kg (130kg in snatch and 155kg in the clean and jerk). But he still ended disappointingly in the eighth position.
Lifters grouped on behalf of entry weights for World Championships and forthcoming events
Lifters are grouped based on their entry weights, with Group A including those with the highest entries, heeded by Group B, and so forth. These performances are essential as the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 World Cup are compulsory events for Paris Games qualification.
In addition to these two tournaments, lifters must also partake in at least three of the following events: the 2022 World Championships, the 2023 Continental Championships, the 2023 Grand Prix 1, the 2023 Grand Prix II, and the 2024 Continental Championships.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) will publicise the Olympic Qualification Rating (OQR) for each weight category at the end of the qualification period. This will take into consideration a weightlifter's best three performances in these games for the final inspection.
