Fang Wan-Ling: All you need to know about Mirabai Chanu’s opponent in weightlifting women's 49kg final at Paris Olympics 2024
Taiwan's Fang Wan-Ling will compete in the women's 49kg weightlifting category at the Paris 2024 Olympics on Wednesday, August 7. She is one of the 11 athletes going up against India's Mirabai Chanu, who is the reigning Olympic silver medalist.
Wan-Ling was born on December 1, 1999 in Alishan Township, Taiwan. She gained recognition by finishing fourth in Tokyo Olympics with a combined score of 181 (80kg snatch; 101kg clean and jerk). Interestingly, for her impressive performance, the Tainan City government renovated her home as a surprise.
The 24-year-old took up the sport in the first year of her middle school in Chinese Taipei and completed her graduation at Taiwan Sport University.
Due to the knee and shoulder injuries, Wan-Ling contemplated retiring from the sport in 2021-22. Nevertheless, she came back stronger and will now look to have a podium finish in Paris.
Fang Wan-Ling's career achievements and highlights
2020 Tokyo Olympics
- Event - Women's 49kg
- Rank - 4th place
2018 Asian Games
- Event - Women's 48kg
- Rank - 6th place
IWF World Championships 2023
- Event - Women's 49kg
- Rank - 10th
IWF World Championships 2018
- Event - Women's 49kg
- Rank - 14th
Fang Wan-Ling's path to the Paris 2024 Olympics
Fang Wan-Ling secured a qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympics through her performances in the 2024 IWF World Cup. She finished with a combined score of 192 (84kg snatch; 108kg clean and jerk) to finish ninth on the Paris rankings.The top 10 players in each of the 10 Olympic classes qualified for the Games.
Interestingly, Wan-Ling set the national record in the clean and jerk and equaled the Chinese Taipei record with 84kg in the snatch
Fang Wan-Ling's recent form and performance
Fang Wan-Ling has been decent with her performances in the last few years. In the World Weightlifting Championships 2023, she finished 10th in the women's 49kg event. Meanwhile, she finished seventh in the women's 49kg event at the 2024 IWF World Cup.
49kg weightlifting event details
Fang Wan-Ling is all set to face other 11 competitors including Mirabai Chanu in her pursuit of a podium finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The women's 49kg weightlifting event will kickstart on August 7 at 11:00 PM IST.