Mirabai Chanu, an Olympic silver medalist, world champion, and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, is one of India's best weightlifters.
Mirabai's silver medal at Tokyo 2020 was just Indian weightlifter Karnam Malleswari's second Olympic medal. She also became only the second Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, behind PV Sindhu.
It helped her get over the disappointment of not being able to complete any of her clean-and-jerk lifts at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where she had entered after shattering a 12-year national record.
Mirabai Chanu was depressed as a result of the letdown, and she even considered retiring early. Steely dedication and several sacrifices led to a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter who was born on August 8, 1994. She won a silver medal in the Women's 49 kg event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Mirabai Chanu has won many World Championships and Commonwealth Games medals. The Indian government honored her with the Padma Shri award for her contributions to sports. In 2018, the Government of India presented her with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award.
Chanu earned silver in the women's 48 kg weight class in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, then went on to win gold in the 2018 iteration of the event in Gold Coast, breaking the games record in the process. Her greatest achievement before to the 2020 Summer Olympics came in 2017, when she won the gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California.
Mirabai Saikhom Chanu was born to a Meitei family on August 8, 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, around 30 kilometers from Imphal city, Manipur. Chanu defined herself as a Sanamahism devotee, although she is not an extremist because she declared that she required the blessings of all gods, including Hindu deities. Her strength was recognized by her family while she was only 12 years old. When her elder brother struggled to lift up a large load of firewood, she could easily carry it home.
Mirabai received her training at Manipur's Sports Academy. She caught rides with sand-carrying truck drivers. She invited the truck drivers to express their gratitude after winning the Olympic medal, and she touched their feet as a symbol of respect.
Chanu's first major achievement came at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where she earned a silver medal in the 48 kg weight category.
Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro 2016
In the women's 48 kg event, Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics. She did not finish the event, however, due to no successful lifts in any of her three clean and jerk efforts.
2017-2021
In 2017, she won the gold medal in the Women's 48 kg category at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California, after lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk).
Chanu won the first gold medal for India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, lifting a total of 196 kilograms, 86 kg in Snatch, and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk.
She broke the games record for the weight category en route to the medal, and it was also her personal best effort. [14] With a total lift of 199 kg, her personal best, she missed out on a bronze medal in the 49 kg category at the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships because her Snatch weight was lower than the third-place athlete, both of whom had identical totals.
Mirabai finished fourth in the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships after lifting a total of 201 kg (87 kg Snatch and 114 kg Clean & Jerk).
In the 49 kg category, this personal best total also set a new national record. She broke her personal record four months later when she won the gold medal in the 49 kg division at the 2020 Senior National Weightlifting Championships by lifting 203 kg (88 kg in Snatch and 115 kg in Clean & Jerk).
She earned bronze in the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent in April 2021, lifting 86 kg in the snatch and then setting a world record by lifting 119 kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 205 kg.
Chanu qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics as the sole Indian woman weightlifter by placing second in the Absolute Rankings for the 49 kg category in June 2021.
Tokyo Olympic Games 2020
Chanu earned a silver medal in the 49 kg division at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo with a total lift of 202 kg, making him the first Indian weightlifter to win a medal at the Olympics and the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari. Chanu set a new Olympic record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 115 kg. Her victory gave India its first Olympic medal at the Tokyo Games.
Following the Tokyo Olympic Games, Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh declared a one-crore reward for her.
Ashwini Vaishnav, the Indian Railway Minister, announced a 2 crore reward, a promotion, and other benefits for her.
National Awards
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, highest sporting honor of India (2018)
- Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India (2018)
- For capturing a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo -
- 1 crore rupees (US$130,000) from BYJU'S
- The Indian government has given us Rs. 50 lakh (US$66,000).
- 1 crore (US$130,000) from the Manipur government, as well as a position as Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) in the Manipur State Police.
- 2 crore (US$270,000) from India's Ministry of Railways, as well as advancement on the Northeast Frontier Railway.
- The Board of Control for Cricket in India awarded him Rs. 50 lakh (US$66,000).
- The Indian Olympic Association gave him Rs. 40 lakh (US$53,000).
Other benefits
- The Government of Manipur awarded him Rs. 20 lakh (US$27,000) for winning gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships.
- The Government of Manipur has awarded him a sum of ten lakh rupees (US$13,000) for qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
- The Government of Manipur has awarded him a sum of Rs. 25 lakh (US$33,000) for his participation in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
