Rishikanta Singh Ruled Out of Asian Games With Knee Injury

Commonwealth silver medallist Rishikanta Singh has been ruled out of the Asian Games because of a knee injury, leaving the Indian weightlifting contingent with four female lifters.

Singh was the lone male weightlifter in the Asian Games squad. The Manipuri athlete competes in the 60kg category and had been carrying the injury since suffering a knee problem a week before the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July.

Despite that setback, Singh went on to win a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. However, hopes that he would recover in time for the continental event have not been realised after an assessment led to a recommendation that he undergo rehabilitation for a month.

Rehabilitation advised after assessment

A source in the Indian Weightlifting Federation said the team had hoped Singh would be fit before the Asian Games, but his recovery did not progress sufficiently for him to take his place in the squad.

“We were hoping that he recovers before the Asian Games but that wasn’t to be. He was assessed following which he has been advised rehab for a month,” the source told PTI.

The injury ends Singh’s immediate Asian Games involvement after a period in which he had delivered a Commonwealth silver medal. His withdrawal also changes the composition of India’s weightlifting group for the continental competition, as there will now be no male lifter in the squad.

No replacement or further update on Singh’s competitive return was detailed in the information available. The immediate focus, according to the assessment cited by the federation source, is a month of rehabilitation for the 60kg lifter.

India’s remaining Asian Games weightlifting squad

India’s weightlifting team for the Asian Games now consists of four women: Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu in the 49kg category, Gyaneshwari Yadav in 53kg, Nirupama Devi in 61kg and Harjinder Kaur in 69kg.

Chanu brings Olympic medal credentials to the group, while Yadav, Nirupama and Harjinder make up the rest of the four-member team across their respective weight categories. With Singh unavailable, those four athletes comprise the full Indian weightlifting contingent named for the event.

For Singh, the ruling out is particularly significant given his status as the only male athlete originally selected in the sport. His Commonwealth Games silver had offered a recent marker of his performance, but the knee injury sustained shortly before that July competition has now prevented an Asian Games appearance.

The federation’s update makes clear that Singh’s recovery timetable, rather than a sporting selection change, is behind his absence. He will undertake the advised rehabilitation while India’s four female lifters prepare to represent the country at the Asian Games.