Paris Olympics 2024: Mirabai Chanu finishes fourth in women's 49 kg weightlifting, Avinash Sable 11th in men's steeplechase

It was a day of disappointment for the Indian contingent as both Mirabai Chanu and Avinash Sable could not get their hands on a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Chanu, who turns 30 on Thursday, came very close to clinching a second successive Olympic medal, finishing fourth in the women's 49kg event on Wednesday, August 7. She faltered her lift in her final attempt to return home empty-handed.

She lifted a total of 199 kgs (88 kgs + 111 kgs) at the South Paris Arena, which was 3 kgs less than what she did at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won the silver medal.

In the French capital, Chanu managed only three lifts (two in the clean and jerk) out of six attempts. She stayed in medal contention after the snatch event. However, failing to lift 114 kgs in her final clean and jerk attempt saw her finish outside the podium places.

China's Hou Zhihui successfully defended her title with a 206 kgs (89 kgs + 117 kgs) effort. Romania’s Mihaela Cambei won the silver (205 kgs - 93 kgs + 112 kgs) and Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao took home the bronze (200 kgs - 88 kgs + 112 kgs).

Unlike Chanu, Avinash Sable finished nowhere close to the medals. In the men's 3000m steeplechase final, he finished in 11th place with a time of 8 minutes 14.18 seconds.

Sable briefly took the lead in the race, giving fans hope of an unlikely medal. However, he couldn’t maintain the speed required to compete with the world's elite by the end. He finished well beyond the national record (8:09.91 seconds) he set at the Paris Diamond League recently.

Morocco’s Soufiane El Bakkali (8:06.05) won the gold medal, USA’s Kenneth Rooks (8:06.41) took silver and Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot (8:06.47) completed the podium.