There is a growing possibility of weightlifting being scrapped from the 2024 Paris Olympics over long-term doping problems and governance issues. Since Mirabai became a star in her maiden Olympic performance, her futuristic medal hopes on the biggest stage are likely to fade in a couple of days.
How Did This Happen?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the end-of-Games meeting held on August 9 unanimously approved a proposal to grant the power to suspend any sport from the Olympics to the executive board without needing approval from the Session.
This Olympic charter was amended to allow the IOC executive board to remove a sport if its governing body refuses to adhere to the rules set by the board or if it “acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic movement”.
The Reason Behind Scraping The Sport From Olympic Status
This sport has been long associated with the Olympic Games and has mired in controversies over doping charges. The International Weightlifting Federation has repeatedly been warned about the need to introduce immediate reforms to prevent doping and corruption scandals.
Even during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics many players were suspected for using stimulators and were charged against it.China’s weightlifter in the 49kg women’s category was also suspected as one of the potential candidates as she took on the weights effortlessly on her first attempt itself and each time the hunches of doping has been increasing as the players were not adhering to rules and regulations.
The final updates on the undertakings is yet to come and if this is enforced then it means 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu’s dream of winning India a gold medal in weightlifting may never be realized and the future weightlifter all over the world would consider leaving the games as the spirit of the game would become more fragile.
