Dream of Mirabai Chanu to win gold in 2024 may shatter as weightlifting likely to lose Olympic status

Aug. 10: The IOC can now remove a sport if its governing body does not comply with a decision made by the Olympic body’s executive board or if it “acts in a manner likely to tarnish the reputation of the Olympic movement.” According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), weightlifting is the sport most at risk of being dropped from the Paris Olympics 2024 due to long-term drug allegations and governance difficulties. Following a series of doping and corruption scandals, the IOC had frequently told the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) last year that it needs to reform.

Tokyo Olympic Silver medallist Mirabai Chanu turned 27 years old today. But on the day she is celebrating her birthday, her sport of Weightlifting is all set to lose its Olympics Status. This means in all likelihood Chanu & her fellow weightlifters will not be seen in action at Paris 2024 Olympics.

Boxing and weightlifting are among 28 core sports locked into the Olympic program, while host cities can apply to add others that appeal to a domestic market. Tokyo added baseball, softball and karate to this year’s Games, and also gave debuts to skateboarding, sport climbing and surfing, which chimed with the IOC’s attempt to woo young viewers. Break dancing will debut in Paris while skateboarding, climbing and surfing will be retained.