Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, Imphal, Manipur, in a Meitei family. She is an Indian weightlifter. Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport. She was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the Government of India in 2018. Her family identified her strength from an early age when she was just 12. She could easily carry huge bundle of firewood to her home which her elder brother found it hard to even pick up
Chanu won the silver medal for India on the very first opening day of the Olympics on Saturday in the Women’s 49 kg category here at Tokyo International Forum. Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk) during her four successful attempts across the competition. China’s Zhihui Hou bagged gold with a total of 210kg and created a new Olympic Record while Indonesia’s Windy Cantika Aisah grabbed bronze with a total of 194kg and gained lots of appreciation tweets.
Mirabai said,”It’s really a dream come true for me. I would like to dedicate this medal to my country and would like to thank the billions of prayers of all Indians, which were with me during this journey,” said Mira after standing second on the podium and giving India its 29th Olympic medal overall.
She is the only Indian after KarnamMalleswari to win an Olympic medal for India in weightlifting. She dedicated this medal to the country and thanked the billion prayers of all Indians.
She added “I would like to thank my family, especially my mother for her sacrifices and for believing in me. Also special thanks to our government for supporting me — Ministry of Sports, Sports Authority of India, Indian Olympic Association , Railways, Olympic Gold Quest, sponsors and my marketing agency IOS for their continuous support.”
She received lots of appreciative tweets from everyone. Some of them are:
“Could not have asked for a happier start to Tokyo 2020 ! India is elated by Mirabai Chanu ’s stupendous performance. Congratulations to her for winning the Silver medal in weightlifting. Her success motivates every Indian,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Congratulations to Mirabai Chanu for winning a hard earned and well deserved Silver Medal in the Women Weightlifting competition at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. She has made the nation proud with her amazing achievement,” tweeted Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
“What a day! What a win for India. MirabaiChanu wins silver in Weightlifting Women’s 49kg category, India open tally in Tokyo Olympics. You’ve made the country proud today,” tweeted Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal also penned on Twitter, “Congratulations to @mirabai_chanu for winning the silver medal in weightlifting. This is the first medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics. Every Indian is proud of you.”
