India’s weightlifting quota for the Games has been reduced from 16 to 11.
The Indian Weightlifting Federation had announced a 12-member team, led by Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu, for the event and indicated that it was informed about the quota reduction only on Wednesday.
“The federation became aware of the cut from 12 to 11 lifters just yesterday,” a reliable source disclosed to PTI.
“Given that Dilbagh is dealing with a back injury and did not participate in any training sessions during the preparatory camp in Birmingham, the decision to withdraw him was taken,” the source added.
N Ajith (71kg), Sairaj Pardeshi (88kg), and Harcharan Singh (110kg) faced bans for doping before the CWG.
Female lifter Vanshita Verma (86kg) was also penalized for an anti-doping rule violation during the qualification period.
The quota reduction represents yet another challenge for Indian weightlifting, which has frequently encountered penalties due to doping issues.
