'It's my third day of period': Mirabai Chanu after missing medal by a whisker

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who finished fourth at the Paris Olympics 2024 in the women's 49kg category, said her performance was affected since it was the third day of her period.

Mirabai failed to lift 114kg in her final clean and jerk attempt which eventually spoiled her chance of winning a second successive medal at the Olympics.

“I was managing 85kg (snatch) in practice and I did it in the competition too. I was confident about clean and jerk also. It was my third day of the period and I had weakness. This affected my game. I gave my best, but it wasn't my day,” Mirabai told reporters in Paris.

"I am happy with the performance because I managed this despite having very little time for recovery,” she added.

Mirabai lifted a total of 199kg (88kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk) and missed the bronze medal by one kilogram. Her effort was three kg less than her total lift at the Tokyo Olympics (202 kg) when the Manipuri athlete won a silver medal in 2021.

The 30-year-old could attempt only two successful attempts in snatch and one in clean and jerk out of total six attempts.

After missing the medal, Mirabai said, "It was going good, whatever the coach said I did. It is just destiny that I did not get a medal, I did my best."

China’s Hou Zhihui, who edged past Mirabai in the Tokyo Olympics to win the gold medal, defended the yellow metal by setting a new clean-and-jerk Olympic record. Zhihui won the gold medal with a total lift of 206kg (89kg+117kg).

Romanian Mihaela Cambei won silver with a total lift of 205kg (93kg+112kg) while Thailand's Surodchana Khambao bagged the bronze for her effort of 200kg (88kg+112kg).