India’s sports fans can block their Saturday (30 July) evening. For, unless something dramatically goes wrong, India will surely win a Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medal in the 49kg women’s weightlifting. Originally slotted to participate in the 55kg weight category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu had done well to add a few kilograms and get ready for the new challenge.
But then complications arose with India’s participation in the 49kg and Chanu was asked to go back to her original weight category, where she starts as overwhelming favourite in . This tag, however, hasn’t come easy. Ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Chanu had posted a photo at the Delhi airport where she was standing all by herself with no fans around.
Having failed in Rio 2016, Chanu was used to a life of struggle and isolation. But then a silver medal in Tokyo changed it all. When she returned home victorious having had a date with history, there were thousands at the airport to claim a piece of her. Chanu had no plans of being a weightlifter.
All she was doing as a young child was lifting wooden logs from the nearby forest to bring back home to light fires at the peak of winter. It was her way of helping her mother and making the home economy sustainable. That’s when her mother spotted something special in young Chanu and pushed her to be an athlete and in doing so changed the course of Indian weightlifting. Chanu, who stands just 5 feet tall, is the perfect embodiment of all that India stands for and aspires to be.
“You want pressure f r o m y o u r people back home, for only then can you make them happy. Unless they are expecting things from you what’s the point of being an athlete,” she said. In Tokyo, Chanu had painted her nails in colours of the national flag. She is planning to do s o m e t h i n g s i m i l a r i n Birmingham as well. It serves, she explained, dual purpose.
“I am definitely planning something; you will see on the day of the competition. I always like to do these things because they help getting into the event. Also, when people start talking about these things it helps to deflect pressure.” Fun and banter aside, Chanu has faith in her abilities and is aware of the responsibilities as a decorated athlete. She goes into the 2022 CWG full of confidence.
But then complications arose with India’s participation in the 49kg and Chanu was asked to go back to her original weight category, where she starts as overwhelming favourite in . This tag, however, hasn’t come easy. Ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Chanu had posted a photo at the Delhi airport where she was standing all by herself with no fans around.
Having failed in Rio 2016, Chanu was used to a life of struggle and isolation. But then a silver medal in Tokyo changed it all. When she returned home victorious having had a date with history, there were thousands at the airport to claim a piece of her. Chanu had no plans of being a weightlifter.
All she was doing as a young child was lifting wooden logs from the nearby forest to bring back home to light fires at the peak of winter. It was her way of helping her mother and making the home economy sustainable. That’s when her mother spotted something special in young Chanu and pushed her to be an athlete and in doing so changed the course of Indian weightlifting. Chanu, who stands just 5 feet tall, is the perfect embodiment of all that India stands for and aspires to be.
“You want pressure f r o m y o u r people back home, for only then can you make them happy. Unless they are expecting things from you what’s the point of being an athlete,” she said. In Tokyo, Chanu had painted her nails in colours of the national flag. She is planning to do s o m e t h i n g s i m i l a r i n Birmingham as well. It serves, she explained, dual purpose.
“I am definitely planning something; you will see on the day of the competition. I always like to do these things because they help getting into the event. Also, when people start talking about these things it helps to deflect pressure.” Fun and banter aside, Chanu has faith in her abilities and is aware of the responsibilities as a decorated athlete. She goes into the 2022 CWG full of confidence.
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