Mirabai Chanu is India’s greatest weightlifter in decades. Like Karnam Malleswari and Kunjarani Devi before her, she has achieved outstanding results in nearly every important competition for the country. She holds medals from the Olympics, the Asian and World Championships, and the Commonwealth Games.
Life Before Weightlifting
Hailing from Imphal, Mirabai Chanu’s family has been her constant source of support ever since her childhood. She would lift wooden logs, and carry them home effortlessly, while her brother struggled. The family realised their daughter’s unique strength and ability, and that was the beginning of her sterling career.
How It Started
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Mirabai Chanu made her debut internationally, as Indian weightlifters dominated the show under the 48kg category. She was 19 at the time, and lifted 170 kg in total to win a silver medal. With a total weight of 173 kg, Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu—two years older than Mirabai—won the gold. The two women from Manipur stole the show, and as luck would have it, Kunjarani Devi was the coach.
After failing in all three of her attempts at the Rio 2016 Olympics, Mirabai Chanu bounced back to win the gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim. This was her first major tournament since the setback. She weighed just under 48 kg at the time, and lifted a total of 194 kg by snatching 85 kg and clean and jerking 109 kg.
Milestones
The pinnacle of Mirabai Chanu’s career was at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, where she took home the silver medal in the women’s 49kg division, making history as the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal—the first being Karnam Malleswari in Sydney in 2000. In Tokyo, Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg snatch + 115 kg clean and jerk) to finish behind China’s Hou Zhihui, who won the gold with a combined lift of 210 kg. She was competing against the finest lifters in the world in her division.
Mirabai won a podium finish by setting a new world record of 119 kg and raising her personal best total to 205 kg. Her composure was crucial because Mirabai faltered in her first two snatch attempts but recovered well in the third and final lift to secure the bronze.
She earned her second world championship medal at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Bogota, Colombia, with a silver-winning 200 kg (87 kg snatch + 113 kg clean and jerk) performance. Mirabai Chanu battled a wrist issue, but nevertheless participated in the Bogota event. After suffering a thigh injury, the two-time Commonwealth Gold Medalist was unable to win at the recent Asian Games 2023.
Mirabai Chanu is a thriving example of how passion, perseverance, and willpower can help one overcome any obstacles in the way of achieving their objectives.
Image source: India Today, The Bridge, Reuters