The Hindu : Sport / Weightlifting : Geeta to lead Indian challenge

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 07, 2007
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Sport - Weightlifting

Geeta to lead Indian challenge

NEW DELHI: Commonwealth Games gold medallist Geeta Rani will spearhead the Indian campaign at the World weightlifting championship, an Olympic qualifying event, at Chang Mai, Thailand, from September 16 to 26.

Geeta was among the seven women lifters named for the World championship following selection trials conducted by the Indian Weightlifting Federation in Patiala on July 31. The Indian federation has settled for just two men lifters as no other came close to the qualifying mark in the trials conducted in Bangalore on Sunday.

“We expect to at least get two Olympic berths at Chang Mai from our women lifters,” said the Secretary of the Indian federation Balbir Singh Bhatia.

At the men’s trail in Bangalore, Sarabjit went on to set new national record in clean and jerk, in the plus-105kg, to virtually select himself in the World championship team. Sarabjit cleared 165kg in snatch and then he hoisted 205, in the third attempt, to improve upon his own record of 204 set in the Guwahati National Games.

The 23-year-old Sarabjit became the only Indian to have raised 205kg in clean and jerk.

India will, however, have a tough task of garnering points to gain berths to the 2008 Beijing Olympics as it has missed the 2006 World championship, also an Olympic qualifying event. Indian federation was serving the one-year suspension from international tournaments last year following positive dope tests returned by four of its lifters.

It recently paid up the requisite fine, $25,000 of the total $50,000, imposed by the International federation (IWF), to be able to participate in Thailand World championship.

There will be to more avenues for the lifters to make it to the 2008 Olympic Games. The Commonwealth championship in Samoa in November will be individual qualification tournament, while the 2008 Asian championship in Japan will be the final chance for making it to Beijing.

Foreign coach

Meanwhile, the long-pending demand of foreign weightlifting coach has been cleared by the Sports Ministry. Egyptian Magad Slamma is expected to join the World championship camp in the last week of August.

Slamma had visited Patiala during an Olympic Solidarity Course for coaches and had evinced interest in coaching the Indian lifters.

Slamma name was forwarded by the IWF, which has advised its affiliated national federations not to employ any coaches without its consent following the spate of positive dope tests in the recent years.

The team: Men: G. Elumalai (69kg), Sarabjit (105kg). Coach: M. Tamil Selvan.