Mirabai Chanu and Bindyarani Devi’s proposal to train in USA approved

Olympic medallist Mirabai and Commonwealth Games medal winner Bindyarani would be training at St. Louis’s SQUAT University under Dr Aron Horschig.

Mirabai Chanu and Bindyarani Devi react after winning the gold and silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 in Birmingham. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Olympic and World Championships silver medallist lifter Mirabai Chanu (49kg) and Commonwealth Games and Asian silver medallist Bindyarani Devi (55kg) have left for a 65-day training camp in St. Louis, USA.

The two lifters will train at the Squat University under Dr. Aaron Horschig and work on their “rehabilitation and strength training” ahead of the Asian Games, according to a Sports Authority of India (SAI) statement on Tuesday.

Chief coach Vijay Sharma and physiotherapist Tesneem Zayyad accompanied the lifters, who left for the USA on Monday. The training was approved by the Union Sports Ministry’s Mission Olympic Cell.

Mirabai, who faced a hip issue during the Asian championships in South Korea last month and finished sixth with a total of 194kg, had been to the USA for about a 10-day training stint after the continental event.

It is learned that the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWLF) was planning to send a few other lifters for the current training camp to the USA but dropped the idea later.

The Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou from September 23 to October 8.