Warrior Princess Mirabai Chanu Warrior Princess Mirabai Chanu

Warrior Princess Mirabai Chanu at Tokyo Olympics 2020. credit twitter

Warrior Princess Mirabai Chanu : 'Did Not Finish' in Rio to silver medal in Tokyo

Updated: Jul 25,2021,01:06 AM IST Achhakaam.com

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Comeback strains the toughest of wills. But genuflects when the person in question is Mirabai Chanu. In the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday, everything associated with staging a comeback -- from challenges unforseen to situations unexpected -- bowed to the resilience and perseverance of the Indian weightlifter. Pint-sized weightlifter Mirabai Chanu lifted the spirits of an entire nation with an incredibly composed silver-winning show as India found itself on the Olympics medals table on the very first day of competitions, a feat so remarkable that it more than made up for some disappointments.

Tougher than the toughest

Tougher than the toughest, she called winning the silver medal in the 49kg category in Tokyo "a dream com true", but to realise it, Chanu had to overcome one obstacle after another, day after day. Chanu opened the country's account with a silver in the women's 49 kg category at the Tokyo Games, finally exorcising the ghosts of her disastrous outing in the Rio Games five years ago. For the former world champion, this was the one medal she has been desperately waiting for. Things weren't always so hunky-dory for the 26-year-old, who has now become the toast of an entire nation.

Chanu had to scale obstacles to reach here

Chanu had to beat poverty, scale obstacles to reach here. Born to a poor family in Nongpok Kakching village about 20 kilometres from Imphal, Chanu is the youngest among six siblings. Her childhood was spent cutting and collecting wood from the nearby hills, bringing it up by herself, and fetching water from nearby ponds in milk powder cans. Such was her strength that one day when her elder brother was unable to lift the firewood, to his amazement, a 12-year-old Chanu swiftly took the pile from him and carried it for two kilometres.

 

 

 

Chanu had decided early in life that she wanted to get into sports. Her obsession with being neat and tidy almost drove her to be an archer. But in a twist of fate the day she went to visit the archery centre, it was closed, and instead, she got to witness some weightlifters train. Reading about Indian weightlifting legend Kunjarani Devi, who also hailed from Manipuri, and her exploits in the international arena also influenced Chanu to take up weightlifting. However, the journey was fraught with obstacles. Her parents were hardly able to support her due to financial crisis. Additionally, Chanu had to toil hard at that young age to adjust her training to her school schedule. She changed her bus twice to reach her training centre which was 22kms from her village. She would carry a bamboo trunk, which was used as barbells, along with for training, something that she built herself.

First national medal in 2009

She won her first national medal in 2009. She quickly rose the ranks and grabbed the silver in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Touted as a favourite to win a medal in the 2016 Rio Games, a then 21-year-old Chanu was left heartbroken after she failed all her three clean and jerk attempts, which meant she could not log in a total. 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 simply 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.

Not someone to back down, the stubborn Manipuri redeemed herself a year later, winning the 2017 World Championship to become the first Indian weightlifter in over two decades to claim a gold at the marquee event. A few months later she was crowned the 2018 Commonwealth Games champion, stamping her authority in the international arena. Her achievements didn't come without sacrifice. Staying away from her family is a regular feat for Chanu. But to participate at the world championship, she also had to miss her sister's wedding. Chanu, who trains in NIS Patiala is very attached to her family, and regularly posts pictures of them on her Whatsapp status. Her professional journey has been somewhat of a rollercoaster.

After the back-to-back golds, the Khel Ratna awardee was struck by a mysterious back problem, which marred her progress in 2018 and also led her to miss the Asian Games that year. The issue left doctors flabbergasted, as none of them could derive the cause of her pain in the lower back. The injury still remains a mystery. It was only after a year that Chanu was able to resume training and she was back in the game. The Indian came agonisingly close to a podium finish in the 2019 Asian and world championships. Determined to get the coveted Olympic medal, Chanu kept improving herself and not even the postponement of the Tokyo Games and the global coronavirus-enforced lockdown could bring her down. 

Decided in Rio Olympics itself that I will prove myself in Tokyo

Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu on Saturday said she can finally take a break at home without worrying about training after managing just five trips to her place in Manipur in the last five years. "I have just been home for five days in the past five years. Now I will go with this medal," said Chanu, whose family is based in Nongpok Kakching village about 20 kilometres from Imphal. "I will now go home and eat food made by my mother," she added. Chanu revealed that after the Rio Games debacle she changed her training and technique completely so that she could redeem herself in Tokyo. Competing in her second Olympics, Chanu claimed the silver medal in the 49kg category with a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg). It was India's second Olympic medal in the sport after Karnam Malleswari's bronze that came 21 years ago at the Sydney Games. "My dream of winning an Olympic medal has been fulfilled today. I tried a lot in Rio, put in a lot of effort but it was not my day then. I thought that day only that I will prove myself in Tokyo," Chanu said during a virtual press conference organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Chanu says, I learnt a lot from Rio failure

Considered a strong medal contender five years ago in Rio as well, Chanu buckled under pressure in the women's 48kg event and failed to log a legitimate lift. "I learnt a lot from that day -- my training and technique was changed, we put in a lot of effort after that. "I was very sad after Rio, there was a lot of pressure on me and I got nervous, I couldn't understand anything for days but then coach sir and the federation counselled me, told me that I have a lot of potential," she added.

It took us 2.5 years for the Olympic qualification because of coronavirus

Head coach Vijay Sharma revealed he was also under a lot of pressure after the disappointing outing in Rio. "There was a lot of pressure on me after the Rio failure, we failed in a very important competition and we were expected to win then also," Sharma said. Determined to prove herself in the Tokyo Games, Chanu and Sharma changed the Manipuri's training, employing a more stringent regimen. "After that we changed the training pattern and technique a lot. The result of which we saw in the 2017 in world championship, then we took the gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. We won a medal in the 2019 world championship. We have been growing and improving regularly. "The lesson we learnt was that we need a lot of determination and discipline. I worked with that and Mira partnered me. "She hasn't done anything but eat, sleep and train in the last five years. It took us 2.5 years instead of 1.5 for the Olympic qualification because of coronavirus. Overall the result of the journey is that we are sitting here today with the medal." The Manipuri's sole focus for the past five years was on winning a medal at the Olympics and that required several sacrifices including staying away from her family. The efforts paid off as Chanu went on to win the world championship in 2017 following it with a gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At the 2019 Asian championship she picked up a bronze in clean and jerk where medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift. Ahead of the Tokyo Games, the Khel Ratna awardee had created a world record in clean and jerk at the 2020 Asian championship earlier this year. Chanu hoped her exploits in the international arena and the Olympics win can inspire more girls to take up the sport specially weightlifting. "There will be change, there are few girls in weightlifting right now but I hope many will be inspired by me and will feel they can also achieve something in the sport."

 

 

 

 

 

 

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