Lifting India’s Hope in Tokyo Olympics: Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has recently risen as a shining sports personality. Chanu created headlines on Saturday by becoming the first and only Indian weightlifter to qualify for this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games after finishing second in the Absolute Rankings. She is ranked second in the 49kg category on the International Weightlifting Federation’s Absolute Ranking list. Let’s look at the inspiring career and journey of the professional weightlifter, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu.

India’s First Olympic Win at #Tokyo2020

• Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in the women’s 49 kg category. It is her first Olympic medal and India’s first win at the Tokyo Games this year.
• Chanu became the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal.

Early Life & Hardships

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was born on August 8, 1994, to a Meitei Hindu family in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur. Her parents saw her talent when she became just 12 years old. She could effortlessly hold a heavy load of firewood to her house that her brother struggled to also lift.

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Becoming a Weightlifting Champion!

Here is a complete timeline of Saikhom Mirabai Chanu’s achievements from earliest to latest:

First significant breakthrough

Chanu’s first significant break came at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow when she earned a silver medal in the 48 kg weight range.

First Olympic Games

Chanu participated in the 2016 Olympic Games in the women’s 48 kg weight class. She didn’t complete the event, unfortunately, since she was unable to lift the weight in either of her three tries in the clean and jerk phase.

2017 World Weightlifting Championships

In 2017, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won a gold medal in the Women’s 48 kg class at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California. Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, including 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk, to capture India’s debut gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018. She smashed the games record for the weight class on her way to the medal, and it was also her individual greatest performance.

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2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships

In the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu earned bronze in the Clean and Jerk in the 49 kg category. Her overall weight of 199 kg was her strongest ever, and she just lost out on a bronze medal because her Snatch weight was less than that of the third-place competitor, who had the same sum.

Mirabai finished fourth in the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships with a total of 201kgs (87kgs Snatch and 114kgs Clean & Jerk). This career-high total also set up a new national record in the 49kg weight class.

2020 Senegal Games

Four months later, she smashed her personal best again, lifting 203kgs  in the 49kg division to win the gold medal at the 2020 Senegal Games.

Awards

N. Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, congratulated Chanu and awarded her with a monetary reward of 2 million rupees. She was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s most prestigious civilian sports honour, in 2018. Chanu was given the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2018.

This was all about the rising sports personality in India, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu who is one of India’s top prospects at the Olympic games this year, and she recently showed her potential by shattering the world record in clean and jerk to earn bronze at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. Keep checking this space to stay updated about everything education-related. For the latest updates, you can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and also subscribe to our newsletter. Leverage Edu wishes you all the best for all your future endeavours.