THE SILVER STAR
HT Correspondent and Agencies
NEW DELHI: It will be a day to remember for the rest of her life.
Mirabai Chanu took home the silver medal at the Tokyo Games on Saturday – the first time any Indian athlete has won on Day 1 of the global sporting event in the country’s Olympic history.
She also the second Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, since Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the Sydney Games in 2000.
“I am very happy, I have been dreaming of this for the past five years. I am very proud of myself right now. I did try for gold but even silver is a great achievement for me,” Chanu said after her career-defining triumph.
Her smile on the podium was hidden due to the mask that she was wwearing on her face – a prominent reminder of the Covid-era Games -but those who know her and of her journey to this medal, would know how much this means.
The Manipuri athlete, now 26, made her Olympics debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, as a young 21-year-old. But she was one of two athletes in her category who didn’t register a total, after failing all three of her clean and jerk attempts.
After failing a lift of 104 kg in her first attempt in clean and jerk, she failed twice in her attempts to pick up 106 kg. In both her second and third attempt, the Indian couldn’t lift the weight and as a result was one of only two lifters in the pool of 12, who had the term ‘Did Not Finish’ (DNF) written in front of her name.
The ordeal was a watershed experience, but one that propelled her to the silver today.
“After Rio Olympics, I broke down when I could not bring home a medal even after working so hard in training. I was unable to understand why I failed,” Chanu had told reporters in April this year.
A year after Rio, Chanu became a world champion as she won the gold medal in the 48kg category by lifting 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk) in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim in the US. This effort was also a competition record.
She didn’t just stop there. Her desire to for achievement led Chanu to win the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. A total lift of 196kg won her the yellow metal. In Tokyo, Chanu did not display any sign of the nerves that broke her performance at the global stage in Rio.
A calm and poised Chanu attempted 84kg in her first snatch. She took her time and cleanly heaved the barbell.
The next was an 87kg, and the 89kg after that – a notch over her personal best of 88kg that she had lifted at the national championship last year.
However, she was unable to better her personal best and settled for 87kg in the snatch event,
Could not have asked for a happier start to Tokyo 2020! India is elated by Mirabai Chanu’s performance. Congratulations...
It’s really a dream come true. I would like to dedicate this medal to my country and would like to thank the billion prayers of all Indians... and my mother
Every Indian is rejoicing this historic accomplishment of @mirabai_chanu at #Olympicgames. Let us #Cheer4india