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Almost two years back, she had faced the biggest challenge of her life. It was the first time that she was representing the nation at the biggest stage, the Olympic Games. More than that, she knew that everyone was expecting her to finish on the podium. The burden of pressure was colossal, to say the least.
'I considered leaving the sport after Rio'
Saikham Mirabai Chanu disappointed. In a field of 12 lifters, she was only one of the two women who did not finish the event. She could not lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section. After failing to lift 104kg in her first attempt in clean and jerk, Mirabai failed to lift 106kg in her next two -- something she had been doing every day for almost a year before in training.
The 21-year-old had buckled under pressure.
"Before heading into the Olympics, I had prepared a lot, I had trained rigorously. At the trials, also, I performed well lifting a total of 192 Kg. then, before the Olympics, I trained in Brazil for one month. But at the Olympics, at the biggest stage, I don't know why I got a little nervous," she told Sportskeeda over the phone from Melbourne.
"I think it was because I got nervous that my lifts were not successful," Mirabai added.
But until then, it was okay. Success and failure are all a part of sports and life. If one doesn't lose, one would never learn how to win. Mirabai knew this. However, what was absolutely shocking was the way her failure in Rio was broadcasted all over the country. The federation, Mirabai and her coach were all widely criticised for the poor show. And that is when the youngster got really dejected.
"After that, seeing all those posts, all thos reports, I broke down mentally. I could not comprehend what had gone wrong. I had given my all while training, prepared meticulously. But still, I had failed. I did not understand why and for a long time, I was haunted by these questions. The failure hurt a lot," she said. "I even considered leaving the sport after coming back to India."
On being asked how she was able to overcome the failure, Mirabai relayed how her mother and her coach had motivated her. "But my mother and my coach talked to me and made me realise what I would miss if I left the sport. And, then, gradually I got back into training and started picking up from where I left."
"I realised that I could still achieve a lot in the sport, that I was young and time is not a concern for me. So, I started training harder. I spoke to my coach and tried to fix my shortcomings in technique amongst other things."
The road back to the limelight
It took some time for Mirabai to get over all the negativity surrounding her performance at Rion. And by then, she was just another forgotten Olympian.
She did pick up the gold medal at the Senior National Weightlifting Championships in December 2016 but the failure at Rio was too big a gulf to be filled up just yet.
It wasn't until Septemper, 2017 that she started announcing her comeback. Mirabai clinched gold at the Commonwealth Senior Weightlifting Championships held in Australia and in the process, booked a berth at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Her total of 189kg was a whopping 36kg more than second-placed Toua Thelma Meabroke. But, again, that was just the first stage of her return.
In November, following in the footsteps of India’s first woman Olympic medallist Karnam Malleswari, Mirabai became the first Indian in over two decades to claim a gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship which was held in Anaheim, USA. She had lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an incredible 194kg in the 48kg category.
The last time an Indian had won the gold medal at the World Championships was in 1995 when Malleswari had repeated her feat from 1994.
"It was a surreal feeling. After 22 years, someone from India had won the gold medal at the World Championships and indeed, it was a proud moment for me. It boosted my confidence a lot. It was a big thing for me, probably the biggest moment of my career yet," she recalled.
Of course, accolades started pouring in. From the President to the common man, everyone sent their messages, congratulating Mirabai on her achievement and she almost became a household name. "'It felt great that everyone was wishing me. If anything, their messages have served as an inspiration for me to do better," she said.
'Aiming gold at Commonwealth, but Asian will be the real test'
"The clean and jerk lift is my weakness but I have been working on it. Vijay sir is always motivating me. Every day after training, he comes up to me and speaks to me on how can improve further. I just want to lift more," she added.
"My main target for this year is the Asian Games. It will be my real test as it will be tough. Nevertheless, if I can give my maximum effort, I'm sure I'll win a medal there also.
"When the competition is tough, I tend to perform better. So, I'm hopeful of a good result at the Asian Games, as well," she signed off.
***
From not being able to afford a glass of milk to Commonwealth glory
Earlier, Chanu had told Sportskeeda how difficult it was for her to even afford a glass of milk at one time. “When I was in Imphal, I knew I had to prioritise, we didn’t have a lot of infrastructures when I was just entering the junior circuit. Our coaches used to give us diet charts, in which chicken and milk were an essential part of my diet. I knew I couldn’t afford it every day. So for close to a year, I lifted eating the unhealthiest of foods, which did affect my game. When I couldn’t afford a glass of milk, I used to just think to myself that this phase will pass. Now, I have no problems, so it’s how you take it, its either a setback or an opportunity,” she had recalled.
Today, she set three new records in six minutes in snatch as she lifted 80kg, 84kg and 86kg in her three attempts. In clean & jerk, she lifted 103kg, 107kg and 110kg as she totalled 196kg in women's 48kg category, setting a new Commonwealth Games record on her way to gold!
