Mirabai Chanu | Tokyo Olympics Silver medal winner | Story and achievements
To give up is always easy, but for a hard worker it is something equal to death. A name to remember, Mirabai Chanu, an Olympic medalist. This weightlifter has made India proud in the Tokyo games. She is the second Indian woman ever to bag a medal at the Olympics for weightlifting.
It was an extraordinary Saturday for India at the Tokyo Olympics as Mirabai Chanu won a silver in the 49 kg weightlifting category.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu born on 8 August 1994, is an Indian female weightlifter, in the Manipur state of India. She was born to Kriti and Tombi. Chanu has two brothers and three sisters where she is the youngest of them all. She ended up waiting for over two decades for India in weightlifting by winning the Gold medal in the 48 kg category at 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, United States.
Career
Mirabai wanted to become an archer at first. But it was then she read about Kunjarani Devi, another iconic weightlifter from Manipur. This thought flashed in her. This was when being a weightlifter first crossed her mind. Mirabai’s mother, who was mindful of her child’s abilities, agreed once and her journey as a weightlifter grew wings. In 2007, she started weightlifting at Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal. Since then she has met all the expectations. Her career has so much to say. She has gone through many hurdles. Anyhow, she always stands out because of her dedication and hard work.
Despite that, Chanu faced the worst part of her life after her heartbreaking performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She opened the gates of Rio Olympics with great hope and everybody was expecting a medal in Weightlifting section in Olympics. But unfortunately she failed to lift the weight in any of her three efforts. But Mirabai couldn’t come up to the expectations. She was so downhearted after her performance. Chanu’s mind went on to give up weightlifting.
Anyhow, she massed courage and then started giving twice the effort into her training sessions. Hence, she gained herself back and won the gold medal at the world championship. And today she has reached position to make the tri color flag wave again. The 26-year-old Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg at the Tokyo Olympics to become second behind China’s Hou Zhihui, won the gold who lifted a total of 210 kg.
Above all else, this medal for Mirabai came to her due to her dedicated devotion to her sport. Rather than moping at home, she virtually went straight to the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, after having a disappointing experience in Rio de Janeiro.
She could not even believe she had won India’s first medal of the Tokyo Olympics.Since Karnam Malleswari in 2000, the Manipuri’s silver transformed her to the second Indian weightlifter to win a medal at the Olympics.
She told that she felt like it was a dream. Chanu forgot where she was and the fact that she was standing on the Olympics podium. Everything in front of her blurred for a bit. She realized that she had won the silver only when they called her name and felt the medal around her neck.
“I am ecstatic! I am so happy to win the silver. I tried really hard for the gold but I am happy with the silver. I failed in 2016 and learnt a lot from that experience and where I have to improve and that’s what got me here,” she says with a 1000-watt smile.
She called her home soon after the medal ceremony. “The gang in Patiala (her mates at the national camp) called me and were dancing in happiness,” she says.
They had chosen to scale down her starting weight to lessen the load on her body, said her coach Vijay Sharma.
“We were going to start with 86 in snatch and 113 in clean and jerk but decided to start at a slightly lower weight so that we could be safe. We planned to scale up once the competition cleared up,” he said.
Some of her awards and achievements
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Padma Shri.
- In November 2017, she became the Second Indian woman to win gold at 2017 IWF World Weightlifting Championship in the USA.
- Breaking the Malleswari’s record, she holds the new national record of 194 kg in the women’s 48 kg category.
- In the 2016 South Asian Games she claimed the gold medal.
- In the South Asian Junior Games and 2011 International Youth Championship Mirabai Chanu has won a gold medal.
- Women’s 48kg, Commonwealth Games 2018.
- Gold Coast; Silver: Women’s 49kg,
- Tokyo Olympics, 2020; Women’s 48kg.
- Commonwealth Games, Glasgow, 2014.
- Had won a bronze medal in Women’s 49kg, Asian championships, Tashkent, 2021.
She has remained positive, emitting energy, and embracing grace even in the extreme times. It is truly assured that she has charmed herself to everyone who has come in touch with her.
