Padma Shri Mirabhai Chanu - The Serial Medal Winner for India

India for the first time has the largest contingent in Olympics. Hence, the hope to win more medals is high this time. As a great start, Padma Shri Mirabai Chanu won India’s first medal in the 49 KG weightlifting category. We all remember Karnam Malleswari who won bronze for India in the 1999 Sydney Olympics. After that, Mirabai is winning a silver medal for India for the first time in weightlifting.

Well, this is not the first time Mirabai is winning medals for India in weightlifting. On several occasions, she did her best and made us all proud. Here is a compilation of the major achievements of Mirabai in the international arena.

Silver in Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2014

Mirabai had her debut in 2014 with participation in Glasgow Commonwealth Games. She won a silver medal in the 48 KG category. Both in snatch as well as clean & jerk category, she took second place and finished with a silver. Along with Karnam Malleswari, Kunjurani Devi, and Sanjita Chanu, Mirabai is among the few women representing India in weightlifting. Well, all of them went on to win a medal for the country.

Gold in World Weightlifting Championship at Anaheim, USA in 2017

Mirabai got the attention of the entire country as well as the world when she won the world weightlifting championship at Anaheim, USA in 2017. She gave a tough fight to her opponents from Thailand and Colombia in the 48 KG category and won gold.

This is phenomenal because Iran, Colombia, Georgia, and Thailand were winning big with a large number of participants. While Mirabai was the only one from India who ensured the top spot in her category.

Gold in Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia in 2018

While Mirabai won silver in her debut commonwealth games, she is probably quite determined to go a step further. Perhaps, this attitude made her win a Gold in the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia.

As we mentioned above, veterans like Kunjurani Devi won medals for India in the Commonwealth Games before. But, there were few women from India who participated in weightlifting. In fact, the world championship is an exception where only Mirabai could participate. And winning a medal with tough opponents from neighbouring countries is still a big deal.

Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Honour in 2018

The Government of India honoured Mirabai with a Padma Shri and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards in 2018. Except Rio Olympics in 2016 and the Pattaya World Championships in 2019, elsewhere she won a medal for India. Hence, she received the highest honour a sportsperson would ever get in the country.

With the largest contingent so far, Tokyo Olympics will see a resurgent India winning medals. Let us wait and watch in the coming days.