Mirabai Chanu, who started lifting firewood as a toddler, is now one of India’s most well-known weightlifters. At the Tokyo Olympics, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, a girl from Manipur’s East Imphal district, made history by winning the silver medal in the Women’s 49kg Weightlifting event. She began competing on the international scene at a young age, earning international medals and gaining notoriety. In the women’s 49kg category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, Mirabai Chanu was considered a favourite.
Mirabai Chanu, a native of Manipur’s capital city Imphal, is 26 years old and was born on August 8, 1994. When she was 11 years old, she earned her first gold medal in a local weightlifting competition. She went on to compete in the World and Asian Junior Championships, winning medals in both. Kunjarani Devi, an Indian weightlifter, is her idol.
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ACHIEVEMENTS
- Mirabai Chanu debuted on the international stage at the age of 20 when she won a silver medal in the 48kg division at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
- In 2017, Mirabai won gold at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, California. She was the first Indian weightlifter to do so in two decades.
- Chanu had a lower back issue in 2018, which prevented her from competing in any of the tournaments throughout the year. In 2019, she made an incredible return at the World Championships in Thailand. She made the event memorable by breaking the 200kg barrier for the first time in her career, despite finishing fourth.
- Mirabai Chanu set a new world record in the women’s 49kg clean and jerk with a lift of 119kgs at the Asian weightlifting championships in Tashkent in April. Due to a lackluster performance in the snatch, Chanu had to settle for a bronze medal in the Asian championships. Manipur’s Chief Minister, N. Biren Singh, praised Chanu and presented her with a gift of 2 million rupees.
- In 2018, she received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest civilian sporting honour. Chanu was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government in 2018.
- Mirabai Chanu, the only Indian weightlifter competing in the Tokyo Olympics 2020, won a silver medal.
OTHER LIFE EVENTS
In the 2016 national trials for the Rio Olympics, Chanu smashed former Indian weightlifter and her idol Kunjarani Devi’s 12-year-old record, winning her a spot on the national roster for the Rio Olympics. She failed to complete any of her three ‘clean and jerk’ attempts at the Rio Olympics and only had one successful snatch attempt. Mirabai had a DNF and did not get a medal, but she kept her positive attitude and competed again later in 2017.
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