If there was one sportsperson which the Indians could believe, would return with a medal for sure was weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. And the young Manipuri did not disappoint as she clinched the silver in women’s 49 kg category. While the whole nation is chuffed with her silver-winning effort in Tokyo, Chanu was hoping for gold.
After her win, Chanu sounded ecstatic but also said that she went for gold, but in the end could not go the distance. “I’m very happy that I’ve won the medal. The entire country was watching me & they had their expectations. I was a little nervous but I was determined to give my best…I worked really hard for this. I tried my best to win gold medal but I wasn’t able to win gold; but I really tried. When I did 2nd lift, I understood I’ll bring a medal along with me," Chanu said from Tokyo.
Later Chanu also took to Twitter to thank all the countrymen and fans.
I am really happy on winning silver medal in #Tokyo2020 for my country 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gPtdhpA28z— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) July 24, 2021
Earlier in the day a video had surfaced online, where her family was shown rejoicing the moment where Chanu made history.
#WATCH | Manipur: Family and neighbours of weightlifter Mirabai Chanu burst into celebrations as they watch her win the #Silver medal for India in Women's 49kg category. #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/F2CjdwpPDc— ANI (@ANI) July 24, 2021
Chanu’s brother too responded to her victory and said, “We are very proud of her…we were very confident of her winning gold but silver is also great. This is the first silver from Manipur and first for India in this Olympics."
Not only this, but sports minister Anurag Thakur too congratulated her. He said, “Let me first congratulate Mirabai Chanu. A big thank you & thank you on behalf of PM Modi and the entire country for bringing a big smile on the faces of 135 crore Indians. First day, first medal, a silver medal. You made the country proud."
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