Global Weightlifting Injury Report: Chanu Cleared for Glasgow as Talakhadze and El-Bakh Target Ningbo Comebacks

The international weightlifting calendar is accelerating toward a pivotal autumn, with the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow beginning next week and the IWF World Championships in Ningbo looming in October. For several of the sport's biggest stars, the road to these majors has been defined by grueling medical rehabilitation. The latest global injury reports reveal a wave of high-profile comebacks, setting the stage for deeply competitive platforms across multiple weight classes.[4]

India's Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu has officially been cleared for competition and will spearhead her nation's weightlifting squad in Glasgow. The 31-year-old had been managing a persistent shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar this past May.[1][2][3]

The Indian medical camp opted for a highly cautious approach, prioritizing Chanu's long-term health over the continental meet to ensure she would be fully prepared for the Commonwealth Games. Having won the national title in Modinagar earlier this year despite the lingering shoulder issue, Chanu is now lifting pain-free and remains a heavy favorite in the women's 48kg category in Scotland.[1][2][3]

In the men's super-heavyweight division, the sport's most dominant figure has quietly ended his hiatus. Georgia's Lasha Talakhadze, who stepped away from the platform following his third Olympic gold in Paris to heal chronic knee and thigh injuries, has officially returned to training.[4][5]

Talakhadze spent the last 18 months resting his joints and focusing on his political career as a Member of Parliament in Georgia. However, his medical and coaching team recently confirmed that the extended rest successfully alleviated his patellar and quadriceps pain. He is currently targeting the Ningbo World Championships, where he hopes to push toward the unprecedented 500kg total that injuries previously denied him.[4][5]

Bulgaria's Karlos Nasar has authored one of the most remarkable medical recoveries in modern weightlifting. In 2023, the young phenom suffered a fully severed Achilles tendon during a freak domestic accident, an injury that many feared would end his elite career.

Nasar not only recovered but moved up to the 94kg weight class, battling through a subsequent right shoulder injury in 2025 to completely rebuild his lifting mechanics. Biomechanical analyses of his recent performances indicate that Nasar has adapted to his past injuries by generating a massive initial impulse off the floor, allowing him to bypass traditional transition phases and survive a violent "crash" catch.[6]

This adapted technique proved devastatingly effective at the 2025 World Championships in Førde, where a fully healthy Nasar set a world record clean and jerk of 222kg. He enters the Ningbo preparation cycle completely unhindered by his previous Achilles and shoulder traumas.[6]

Qatar's Fares El-Bakh, universally known as Meso Hassona, is also back to full strength following a terrifying sequence in Paris. During a 230kg clean and jerk attempt at the 2024 Olympics, Hassona sustained simultaneous elbow and shoulder injuries that required extensive rehabilitation.[5]

Hassona relocated his recovery camp to the Italian Olympic Training Center in Rome, where he meticulously rebuilt his overhead stability. Having successfully returned to the platform to capture medals at the 2025 Asian and World Championships, Hassona is now primed for a highly anticipated 102kg clash in Ningbo.[5]

Finally, Ecuador's Neisi Dajomes has put a dark chapter of knee tendinitis firmly behind her. The Tokyo and Paris medalist admitted that severe patellar pain in 2023 nearly forced her into early retirement, leaving her in tears after training sessions.[1][4]

After modifying her squat volume and undergoing extensive physical therapy, Dajomes has restored her leg strength. She dominated the 81kg class at the recent Pan American Championships and has explicitly stated her knees are ready for the grueling Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, beginning with the World Championships in China this fall.[1][4]