Sports

Congratulations Mirabai Chanu: Here's her first statement after winning Silver in Tokyo Olympics!

By alagu, 24 July, 2021
Tokyo Olympics 2021, Olympics, India

India has got an optimistic start on the very first day of the Tokyo Olympics after 26-year-old weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has won the Silver Medal on Saturday and etched a milestone in the history of the Indian Olympics. By winning the Silver Medal, Chanu has opened India's medal account and instilled hope for the Indian contingent to keep up the winning momentum. With Chanu's triumph, the country, which has sent one of the largest contingents to Tokyo, is cheering the moment and celebrating Chanu for her remarkable feat.

Chanu has written history by becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win Silver in Olympics in the Women's 49kg category. While China's Hou Zhuhui won the Gold medal in the Women's 49kg category weightlifting competition, Chanu has won the Silver and Indonesia's Cantik Windy Aisah has won the Bronze medal. Chanu has won the Silver medal in 49kg weightlifting with a total lift of 202 kg. Chanu has also become the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari.

Chanu had also registered a new Olympic record with a successful lift of 115 kg in clean and jerk. The weightlifting event was held at the Tokyo International Forum and Mirabai Chanu had begun with an 84kg lift in her attempt in the snatch segment and later, she had lifted 87kg that advanced her prospects for a Gold medal. However, Chanu's momentum was broken by her opponent Chinese weightlifter Hou Zhihui after the latter had lifted 88kg in her first attempt. Zhihui went on to set a new Olympic record in the snatch at 94 kgs in her third lift. 

Chanu is in the rain of wishes and commendations across and beyond India as several leaders and sportsmen had celebrated her milestone. For the first time since winning the medal, Chanu has issued a statement on winning the medal. She took to Twitter and wrote, "I am really happy on winning a silver medal in Tokyo 2020 for my country." She had posted her statement on Twitter in which she said, "It's really a dream come true for me. I would like to dedicate this medal to my country and would like to thank a billion prayers of all Indians which were with me during this journey." 

"I like to thank my family especially my mother for a lot of sacrifices and believing in me. Also, special thanks to our government for supporting me, Ministry of Sports, SAI (Sports Authority of India), IOA (Indian Olympic Association), Weightlifting Federation of India, Railways, OGQ (Olympic Gold Quest), sponsors, and my marketing agency IOS for their continuous support in this journey. I would like to give special thanks to my coach Vijay Sharma sir and the support staff for their continuous hard work, motivation, and training. Thank you once again entire weightlifting fraternity and all my countrymen. Jai Hind", Chanu added in her statement. 

Mirabai Chanu had made her debut in Olympics in the 2016 Rio games. She was one of the promising athletes in the then Indian fleet. However, she had suffered a poor outing in Rio and disappointed the country. After years of intense training, Chanu has created a record of lifting 119 kg clean and jerk at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting championships. She built back the momentum by bagging gold medals in weightlifting in Commonwealth Games that were held in 2018. She was qualified to participate in the Tokyo Olympics as the lone Indian weightlifter and her pick didn't go vain as Chanu has created history by becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win the Silver medal at the Olympic games and with the medal, she has opened India's medal account.

Born in Imphal, Manipur, Chanu's first major breakthrough came at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in which she had won the silver medal in the 48kg weight category. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian government for her contributions to the sport and she was also awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in India, by the government in 2018. After Chanu had won the Silver medal in the Tokyo games, Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter and wrote, "Could not have asked for a happier start to @Tokyo2020! India is elated by @mirabai_chanu's stupendous performance. Congratulations to her for winning the Silver medal in weightlifting. Her success motivates every Indian. #Cheer4India #Tokyo2020".

 

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