Mirabai Chanu wins India’s first Silver Medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Opening India’s medals tally in Tokyo Olympics 2020, Mirabai Chanu on Saturday created history as she bagged a silver in the Women’s 49kg category.

In four successful attempts Mirabai lifted a total of 202 kg (87kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk) at the event. China’s Zhihui Hou bagged gold with a total of 210kg while creating a new Olympic Record and Indonesia’s Windy Cantika Aisah received bronze with a total of 194kg.

Chanu with this silver medal has become the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari who bagged a bronze in the 69kg category at the 2000 Sydney Games when the weightlifting arena was opened to women for the first time.

After winning the Olympic silver medal, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu said this is a dream come true and thanked the entire country for praying for her victory. She also said she tried best to win the gold.

This Indian Olympics silver medallist weightlifter’s full name is Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. She was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, Imphal, Manipur, to a Meitei family. Her family knew about her strengths from an early age of 12. She could easily lift huge bundle of firewood to her home which even her elder brother found it hard to pick up.

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow Chanu had won the silver medal in the women’s 48 kg weight class; she went on to win the gold medal at 2018 edition of the event held in Gold Coast. Her major achievement came in 2017, when she bagged the gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, United States.

In 2018, she received India’s highest civilian sports honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. The same year, Chanu was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. She won Gold at Qatar International Cup 2019, after lifting 194kg.