Wait lifter Mirabai Chanu in World Championships at USA

CHENNAI: DNF/no-lift. These two words were resonating inside Mirabai Chanu’s head before she lifted the barbell on Thursday at the World Weightlifting Championships at Anaheim, California.

But when she put it down, things changed forever. She was a world champion. Despite winning a gold in the Commonwealth Championship in Australia recently, the memory of that unfortunate Olympic outing in Rio is what came to her head.

As national coach Vijay Sharma says: “Commonwealth has always been India’s forte. It is in events like this and the Olympics that we find it difficult.” So it’s only natural that Chanu thought about it and she knew that she couldn’t afford another DNF.

“We were sure of a medal before coming here. But the gold was a surprise. After Rio, the government and the federation did not lose hope. Now, she has repaid the faith they had in her,” Vijay added.

Born and raised with two brothers and three sisters, Chanu always wanted to become a sportsperson. While her initial struggles like cycling for long hours to train and tackling economic hardships are known, the 23-year-old did not start with weightlifting.

“I used to like archery a lot. But back then, it was difficult for me to get a coach. That’s when I started to try weightlifting. Watching the likes of Kunjarani Devi and Anita Chanu inspired me,” Chanu told Express.

Chanu’s father Kriti Singh Meitei was a clerk with the PWD department. To raise six kids with a government salary is not easy. While Indian parents are more concerned about academics, Chanu’s were different. Despite hardships, her parents and elder brother Ranjan always supported her.

“I used to train from 5:30 in the morning. I came back home by 7:30 at night and used to attend night classes. Obviously, it was very tiring and I used to doze off very often. The principal and school authorities made a big deal about it initially. But my parents made them understand. They always had faith in me. That is why I was very disappointed after Rio. But now, that is all in the past,” said the Manipur girl.

While the win is a personal achievement for her, it is also a huge boost for the sport in the country. Weightlifting has always been plagued by doping scandals in India and other parts of the world. A lot of athletes banned by the National Anti-Doping Agency are weightlifters.

Also, the national federation was banned by the international body thrice (2004, 2006 and 2009). Even in this year’s event, as many as nine countries were banned from taking part. Among them were top guns Russia and China.

In such a situation, many would come to the conclusion that Chanu had it easy this time. But that is not the case.

“In Rio, the gold medallist lifted 108kg in clean and jerk. The silver medallist lifted 85kg in snatch. Chanu lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk. So even if they were there, she would have bagged a medal. Like I said, we were not sure of gold. But medal hope was always there. Our next target is Tokyo 2020. And it is highly possible,” coach Vijay said.

vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com