Gyaneshwari eyes new personal best at Asian Games after Glasgow silver

Fresh from a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, Indian weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav is aiming to carry the confidence and experience from Glasgow into the Asian Games, where she hopes to set a new personal best.

The 23-year-old Chhattisgarh lifter produced personal bests in both the snatch and clean and jerk at the Glasgow Games in July, lifting a total of 199kg (88kg+111kg) to finish second in the women's 53kg category.

"The preparation is going good. I want to get my personal best there. I had given my personal best of 199kg at the Commonwealth Games and I will try and improve on that," Gyaneshwari told PTI in an interaction facilitated by SAI.

"We haven't got a lot of time, just a month," she said.

Currently training at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Gyaneshwari is particularly keen to improve her snatch and believes even marginal gains in both lifts would mark progress.

"I will try to improve in snatch. Even if I'm able to improve 1kg each in snatch and 1kg clean and jerk, it will be an achievement for me. For an athlete, getting a personal best is a huge thing," she said.

The Asian Games are scheduled to be held across Aichi-Nagoya in Japan from September 19, and Gyaneshwari hopes her first major multi-sport experience at the Commonwealth Games will help her handle the bigger challenge.

"The experience of CWG I will use in Asian Games," she said.

The competition, however, is expected to be intense, with traditional powerhouses China, South Korea and North Korea also in contention for the podium.

Gyaneshwari could face an even tougher domestic battle after the Asian Games, with Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu planning to move up from the 48-49kg category to 53kg, the starting women's weight class for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Asian Championships silver medallist Bindyarani Devi has also said she will move down to 53kg after winning bronze in the 58kg category at the Commonwealth Games in July.

Gyaneshwari, who won bronze in the 53kg category at this year's Asian Championships, is unfazed by the prospect of competing against the country's established stars.

"I started (weightlifting) seeing Mira didi and now she is saying she will come to 53kg. I will give my 100 per cent and put in all my effort. Baaki competition toh chalta hi hai," she said.

She has also grown more comfortable in the 53kg category after initially finding it difficult to maintain her weight.

"I am pretty comfortable in this weight category now. Initially I had weight issues but now I am comfortable. I have been competing in this weight category for 1-1.5 years now," she said.

Mirabai has remained an important source of inspiration for Gyaneshwari, who trained alongside the former world champion at a camp in Birmingham ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

"In Birmingham, I saw her technique, how she's lifting. We observe all of that and learn from it. Her discipline, hard work and dedication have led her to such a stage. So we learn from that," she said.