India's Mirabai Chanu To Be Awarded Gold Medal If China Weightlifter Zhihui Hou Fails Dope Test

As per the rules, the athlete who has won silver, will be awarded the gold if an athlete who won the gold medal fails the doping test.

Photo: Sachin Tendulkar / Twitter

China weightlifter Zhihui Hou who won the gold in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Saturday, will be tested by anti-doping authorities and if she fails the doping test, India's Mirabai Chanu, who had bagged the silver medal in the Women's 49kg category, will be awarded gold.

As per the rules, the athlete who has won silver, will be awarded the gold if an athlete who won the gold medal fails the doping test.

"She has been asked to stay in Tokyo and the test will be done. The test is definitely happening," a source in the know of developments told ANI.

Mirabai Chanu, hailing from a modest background in Manipur's Imphal opened India's medal count on the first day of the quadrennial event in the 49 kg category. The 26-year-old weightlifter bagged a silver medal after successfully lifting 84Kg & 87Kg but couldn't better her own best of 88 Kg as she failed in the snatch attempt of lifting 89Kg.

After a disastrous outing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, Mirabai fought depression. She rose up to the World Championship event in 2017 to become a champion. In 2018, she beat her own national record.

In 2021, ahead of the Olympics, she set a new world record in the clean and jerk and finally, the 26-year-old weightlifter bagged silver at the prestigious Tokyo Olympics.

Talking about her big feat, Mirabai had said that she was determined to give her best, calling the 2016 Rio Olympics a learning curve for her.

When asked if she thought she could go for gold, Chanu had said: "I tried my best to win the gold medal, I was not able to win the gold, but I really tried. When I did the second lift, I understood I'll bring a medal along with me."