Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (born 8 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter.She won Silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in Women’s 49 kg, helping to secure India its 1st medal of the games.A regular presence in international events since 2014 in the 48 kg category, Mirabai Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport. First lifter to win a silver at the Olympics and second to win a medal after Karnam Malleswari‘s bronze in Sydney 2000.She was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the Government of India in 2018.Chanu had won the silver medal in the women’s 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow; she went on to break the games record en route to the gold medal at the 2018 edition of the event held in Gold Coast. Her biggest achievement came in 2017, when she won the gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, California
Career stats
Chanu’s first major breakthrough came at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games; she won the silver medal in the 48 kg weight category.
Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the women’s 48 kg category. However, she failed to finish the event, owing to no successful lifts in any of her three attempts in the clean & jerk section.In 2017, she won the Gold medal in the Women’s 48 kg category by lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk) in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim, CA, United States.
In 2021, Mirabai Chanu became the 1st and only woman Indian weightlifter to qualify for the 2021 Summer Games by securing the 2nd position in the 49kg category. The 27 year old, lifted 86 kg in snatch and then created the world record by lifting a massive 119 kg in the clean and jerk, for a total of 205 kg, which won her a Bronze medal and a ticket for Tokyo Olympics.
Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk to win the first gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games 2018. En route to the medal, she broke the games record for the weight category; the effort also marked her personal best performance.She won Bronze in Clean and Jerk at 49 kg Category in 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships. The total weight of 199 kg was her best ever and she just missed out on a bronze medal as her Snatch weight was lower than the third place athlete, both of whom had an identical total. At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships, Mirabai lifted a total of 201kgs (87kgs Snatch and 114kgs Clean & Jerk) to finish 4th. This personal best total also created a new national record in the 49kg category. She broke her personal record again four months later when she lifted 203kgs (88kgs in Snatch and 115kg in Clean & Jerk,) in the 49kg category to win the gold medal at the 2020 Senior National Weightlifting Championships.
Chanu won the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the 1st Indian weightlifter to win silver in Olympics, winning a silver medal in 49kg weightlifting with a total lift of 202 kg. Chanu managed to lift a total of 202 kg in the women’s 49kg category to become the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal. A new Olympic record was registered by Mirabai Chanu with a successful lift of 115kg in clean and jerk.
She was awarded USD $1,400,000 from a private donor in India for successfully winning an Olympic medal.
Award
₹20 lakh (US$28,000) from the Government of Manipur for the gold medal in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships.
For winning the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics
₹50 lakh (US$70,000) from the Government of India.
₹1 crore (US$140,000) from the Government of Manipur.
