Mirabai Chanu, the silver medallist at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will undergo training in the United States after her proposal to train abroad was approved by the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India.
The athlete has already flown out of the country and is on her way to St. Louis where she will train at Dr Aron Horschig's SQUAT University. She will focus on strength training as part of her preparations for the upcoming Asian Games 2023 which are scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.
Reached Newark, next stop St Louis ✈️ pic.twitter.com/1tMPJMVa1J
— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) June 13, 2023
The official Twitter handle of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) announced the development and wrote: "MOC approves a 65 days long training camp for CWG Medalists @mirabai_chanu & @BindyaraniS at St. Louis, 🇺🇸 with Dr. Aaron Horschig. #TOPSchemeAthletes will be training at @SquatUniversity to prepare for the all important #AsianGames2022."
MOC approves a 65 days long training camp for CWG Medalists @mirabai_chanu & @BindyaraniS at St. Louis, 🇺🇸 with Dr. Aaron Horschig.#TOPSchemeAthletes will be training at @SquatUniversity to prepare for the all important #AsianGames2022 pic.twitter.com/44xirEb8qm
— SAI Media (@Media_SAI) June 13, 2023
Chanu made her comeback to competitive action in May after completing a five-month rehabilitation program following her hip surgery in December last year. In her first competition of the season, the 28-year-old weightlifter secured a sixth-place finish at the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 held in Jinju, South Korea.
Chanu will be accompanied by Indian chief coach Vijay Sharma and physiotherapist Tesneem Zayyad during the 65-day trip to the United States
The Mission Olympic Cell also approved the training proposal of Bindyarani Devi, a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Games 2022.
Bindyarani Devi, 24 years old, secured the silver medal in the women's 55kg category at the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2023 held in South Korea earlier in May. She will also train in St. Louis, along with Chanu in their pursuit of excellence in the forthcoming Asian Games.
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