Weightlifting: Achinta Sheuli – battered and bruised but ready to compete at the World Championships
August 5, 2023
It’s going to be busy September for Indian weightlifter Achinta Sheuli.
The IWF World Championships are set to begin on September 4 and after a span of ten days, he will move from Riyadh to Hanghzhou to compete at the Asian Games.
Last year, Achinta was brimming with confidence having clinched a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and was eyeing a first World Championships medal in Bogota. However, he had to withdraw moments after his weigh in as he pulled his hamstring in the warm-up area.
This time, even though Achinta is keeping his expectations in check, Riyadh presents itself as an opportunity to pick up the pieces after missing out on last year’s Worlds in Bogota.
“I am treating it like any other normal competition so there is no pressure,” said Achinta in a conversation with Scroll.
The 21-year-old from West Bengal is counting on himself to bounce back after a rather underwhelming outing at the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Jinju, South Korea where he finished second in Group B in the 73kg weight division, managing a total lift of just 305kg (140kg in snatch+165kg in clean and jerk).
The IWF World Championships 2023 is a qualifying event for Paris Olympics 2024 and so, the stakes couldn’t be higher. According to the Olympic Qualification Ranking, the top 10 athletes of each Paris 2024 weight category will be allocated their quota place.
Achinta said, “There is still time for Paris but in the qualifying events, I would like to focus on how much my performance improves.
“The qualification is very tough for Paris 2024, so my hope is that I do my best. I have to put myself and my country among the Top 10 before the qualification period ends. For that, I am definitely giving my best every day.”
