India’s star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu created history on Saturday as she overcame her Rio heartbreak to become the first Indian weightlifter to win the silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Chanu also became the first Indian to win an Olympic medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games in the Women’s 49kg category. The Manipuri athlete showed immense grit and determination as she ended India’s 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics.
Mirabai was seen breaking down in tears after achieving this historic feat. She later danced to celebrate her medal at the Olympics. 5 years ago, Mirabai had headed to her maiden Olympic Games at Rio as one of the big Indian hopes, but she suffered a poor outing.
Mirabai has the world record of 119kg in clean and jerk at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships. The lone Indian weightlifter in Tokyo roared back to form with world championships gold in 2017 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2018.
She heads into Tokyo Games after having set the world record in clean and jerk in the women’s 49kg category. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chanu for her “stupendous performance” through his tweet.
