Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, champion weightlifter, in a new role.
The Olympic silver medallist's inspiring fitness tips.
While weightlifter Mirabai Chanu bagged silver, badminton star PV Sindhu and boxing legend Lovlina won bronze in the Tokyo Olympics. The trio graced the cover of the latest edition of the leading fashion magazine.
President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, hailed Saikhom Mirabai Chanu's gold-medal winning effort at the Weightlifting World Championship in Anaheim, USA.
India's Saikhom Mirabai Chanu turned in a highly disappointing performance at the Rio Olympics, as she could not get an overall total in women's 48kg after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section. In a field of 12 lifters, she was one of two who did not finish (DNF) her event.
Mirabai Chanu's dream of clinching a second successive Olympic medal was dashed
With this, Chanu became only the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari bagged bronze in the 69kg category at the 2000 Sydney Games.
The former world champion ended with a total lift of 201kg (88kg+113kg), which is far from her personal best.
Mirabai Chanu's show was below her personal best.
The 24-year-old Manipuri lifted 82kg in snatch and 110kg in clean and jerk to finish on top of the podium after recovering from the injury, which required extensive physiotherapy.
Mirabai turned 28 on Monday, August 8, and the champion celebrated her birthday by planting saplings.
Mirabai Chanu talks about training in lockdown and her plans to return to her old fitness regime.
Born to a poor family in Nongpok Kakching village about 20 kilometres from the capital Imphal, the youngest among six siblings, Mirabai would go to collect firewood from a nearby hill with her brother Saikhom Sanatomba Meitei, who is four years her elder.
Tokyo Olympics will be Chanu's second appearance on the big stage
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu was first of the seven medallists for India at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a silver medal in weightlifting (49kg category), on the first day of the Tokyo Games.
The gold went to China's Hou Zhihui with an effort of 210kg (94kg+116kg), who created Olympic records in all three categories (snatch, clean and jerk and Total).
'We feel empowered to perform for India'
The state government would also reward her with Rs 1 crore, the chief minister said.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu clinched three bronze medals for India on the opening day of the 19th Junior Women Asian Weightlifting Championships in Yangon, Myanmar.
Indian weightlifters Sivalingam Sathish Kumar and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu earned the right to compete at the Rio Olympics in men's and women's weight categories respectively after topping the selection trials. Selection trials were held in Patiala to choose one lifter each from men's and women's category across all weight divisions after India had earned two quota places for the Rio Games at Senior Asian Championships at Tashkent, Uzbekistan in April. Sathish earned the ticket for Rio after finishing on top among male lifters with a total of 336kg in 77kg weight division. He lifted 151kg in snatch and 185kg in clean & jerk.
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu will have an outside chance of a podium finish for India when the weightlifter begins her campaign in the women's 48kg category at the Rio Olympic Games on Saturday.
An Olympic medallist's wish is anybody's command. Domino's Pizza has pledged free pizza for life to India's silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, after the champion said she wished to eat pizza after her feat at the Tokyo Olympics.
The Chanu household at Nongpok Kakching village, around 25km from Manipur capital Imphal, had visitors since Friday despite the curfew caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online voting for the award will remain open until February 28 and the winner will be revealed on March 28 at a ceremony in the Capital.
It was an emotional homecoming for newly-crowned Olympic silver-medallist Mirabai Chanu, who broke down on meeting her mother in Imphal on Tuesday before being felicitated by Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh at the airport.
Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu is focussing on an Asian Games gold medal, the only accolade missing from her showcase.
The ongoing crisis in Manipur has affected several others in the country in one way or the other. Over the years Manipur has produced brilliant sports person in the country.
The postponement of the Tokyo Games and a break in training due to the COVID-19 lockdown last year brought with it a shoulder issue for the weightlifter that could have led to a completely different result, something Chanu had been worried about.
India ran away with opening day honours in the weightlifting competition of the 20th Commonwealth Games with Sukhen Dey and K Sanjita Chanu winning the gold medal in their respective events in Glasgow.
"I saw the earrings on TV, I gave them to her in 2016 before the (Rio) Olympics. I have made it for her from the gold pieces and savings I have so that it brings luck and success," Leima said from her home in Manipur where a considerable number of relatives, friends and well-wishers gathered to watch Chnau script history in Tokyo.
Apart from Mirabai, the four other Indian lifters were placed in groups C and D, failing to finish even in the top 20 at the Worlds, earlier this month.
Narendra Modi on Friday heaped praises on weightlifters Sanjita Chanu and Deepak Lather after the two made the country proud by clinching gold and bronze, respectively, at the ongoing 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday gave away prestigious Padma awards to 89 winners at Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
PM Modi, Olympian Abhinav Bindra lead country in congratulating Mirabai Chanu on winning Olympic silver on Saturday.
World champion and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says the injury is not as bad as first thought and she would need just two weeks of training to be competition ready.
This Olympic cycle has been marred by injuries for Chanu, who turned 30 just a day after the competition in Paris.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the Indian contingent which returned from the Paris Olympics with six medals.
Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu and Saikhom Mirabai Chanu bagged a gold and silver, respectively, in women's 48kg weightlifting in a display of overwhelming domination to open India's medal account on the opening day of the competition in the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday.
Newly-crowned weightlifting world champion Saikhom Mirabai Chanu says she thought of quitting the sport after receiving flak for her failure to win a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Following is India's schedule at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Saturday, September 30.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances