World and Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu, who recently got a silver medal in the Asian Games in 49kg, will compete in 53kg at the World weightlifting championships in Ningbo, China, on Thursday.

The 32-year-old lifter jumped to the higher weight after 53kg became the minimum weight category for women at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Mirabai, who has won all her major medals in either 48kg or 49kg, had competed in 55kg once at the Singapore International meet in 2022.

For the World championships, which is an Olympic qualifying event, Mirabai has entered a pre-competition total of 200kg and is placed in Group ‘B.’ Top competitors in each weight are clubbed in Group ‘A.’

“Mira entered this competition to check herself and gather some ideas. She did not have the time to prepare after the Asian Games, leave alone increasing her normal body weight (which stays around 50kg). We will begin our preparation from March next. The target is to qualify for the Olympics,” chief national coach Vijay Sharma told The Hindu.

The LA Olympics qualifying timeline has two periods. Best three results of the first period, comprising six events, and best two results from the second period, including four events, of an athlete will be considered to finalise the Olympic Qualification Ranking (OQR). Top-eight athletes in each weight will earn Olympic quota places.

Meanwhile, India has fielded Gyaneshwari Yadav (53kg), Usha and Nirupama Devi (both 61kg) and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Lovepreet Singh (+110kg). Charu Pesi (65kg), hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, could not make it to Ningbo after he got a stapled Chinese visa.