Kolkata: Manipur’s Rishikanta Singh Chanambam, who won a silver medal in the men’s 60kg weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has been forced to pull out of India’s Asian Games squad because of an injury.Speaking to TOI on Wednesday from Manipur, Rishikanta said, “I had been dealing with pain on the left side of my knee even during the Commonwealth Games. I really wanted to compete in the Asiad too because it’s a big competition for me, but I couldn’t manage it. I later consulted a doctor, who said there was a muscle imbalance on my left side. Right now, I’m focusing on my recovery.”Rishikanta was the lone male athlete in India’s weightlifting squad for the continental meet, which will be held in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, from Sept 19 to Oct 4.Besides Rishikanta, the four other athletes who’s been named in the squad were Mirabai Chanu (women’s 49kg), Gyaneshwari Yadav (women’s 53kg), Seram Nirupama Devi (women’s 61kg) and Harjinder Kaur (women’s 69kg).At the last Asian Games, India had sent a two-member weightlifting team comprising Mirabai and Bindyarani Devi, but neither finished on the podium. Mirabai finished fourth in the 49kg category, while Bindyarani was fifth in the 55kg category.Rishikanta will be gutted to miss the Games after his success in Glasgow. Following his performance there, he had said that, had it not been for the injury, he would have gone for gold.Malaysia’s Bin Kasdan Mohamad Aniq eventually won the event with a Games-record total of 273kg. Rishikanta lifted a total of 264kg. He equalled Bin Kasdan’s 121kg in the snatch but could manage only 143kg in the clean and jerk, compared to the Malaysian’s 152kg.For now, the 21-year-old is keeping his focus on recovery, hoping to return stronger and make up for the opportunity he has missed.
