Weightlifters shine despite physios’ absence

Mirabai Chanu (48kg) smashed snatch, clean and jerk and the overall Games records on Thursday to claim India’s first gold of the ongoing edition, while P Gururaja (56kg) overcame a few nervy minutes to clinch a silver in the men’s competition. The colour of their medals might have been different but one thing common to their performances was that neither of them had a physio by their side to take care of their aches and niggles during a demanding day.

“I don’t have a physio with me here in the competition. He was not allowed here. I did not get enough treatment coming into the competition. There is nobody, we did tell officials but nothing happened,” Chanu said after her record-breaking gold-winning performance that earned her a massive ovation from the fans here. “I had requested that my physio be allowed but he has not been allowed. But we are helping each other and managing so far,” she added with a smile. Gururaja, the soft-spoken wannabe-wrestler-turned-weightlifter from Karnataka, also spoke about the problems he faced. 

“I’ve sustained multiple injuries. My physio is not here, so I haven’t been able to get the treatment that I need for my knee and sciatic nerve,” he said. Sciatic nerve begins in the lower back and runs through to the lower limb, making it the longest and widest single nerve in the human body. IOA Secretary General Rajeev Mehta said the IOA cleared only those officials which were finalised by the Indian Weightlifting Federation.