Mirabai Chanu on Saturday scripted history by winning India’s first medal of the Tokyo Olympics when she clinched silver in women’s 49kg weightlifting event. Chanu thus becomes the second ever Indian female weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic weightlifting medal. Chanu took the silver lifting a total 202 kg - 87 kg in snatch and 115 kg in clean and jerk. She successfully lifted 84 kg and 87 kg in her first two attempts in snatch category but failed in her final in which she targeted 89 kg. Similar story followed In the clean and jerk section that saw her lifting 110 kg and 115 kg in the first two attempts. However, in her final, she couldn’t lift 117 kg but by then, she had already assured herself of a silver. Chanu broke down after realising she has secured a medal and hugged her coach in jubilation. And later did a little a dance after assuring herself of a silver.
In an exclusive interview to News18, Chanu said, “I cannot explain in words how happy I’m feeling. I am feeling very proud, it’s our second medal in weightlifting. I want to thank the federation, my coach, family and all support system," the 26-year-old said in an exclusive chat.
In an interview with NDTV, Chanu also said that the first thing she wanted to do was eat pizza. “First of all, I will go and have a pizza. It has been a long time since I ate it. I will eat a lot today."
#NDTVExclusive | “First of all, I will go and have a pizza. It has been a long time since I ate it. I will eat a lot today”: Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu), Olympic athlete, on winning India’s first silver medal in #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/kmuW1zDb5J— NDTV (@ndtv) July 24, 2021
Following her comment, Domino’s India has stepped up to offer her free pizzas - for life. “Aapne kaha, aur humne sunn liya 🙏
We never want @mirabai_chanu to wait to eat 🍕 again so we’re treating her to FREE Domino’s pizza for life! #PizzasForLife" they wrote on Twitter.
Aapne kaha, aur humne sunn liya 🙏 We never want @mirabai_chanu to wait to eat 🍕 again so we’re treating her to FREE Domino’s pizza for life! #PizzasForLife— dominos_india (@dominos_india) July 24, 2021
Mirabai further said her target was to win a medal at the Tokyo Games and hence she made several sacrifices to make her dream come true. “I have worked quite hard for this and made sacrifices. My target was to win a medal at Tokyo Olympic,” Mirabai said. Her coach Vijay Kumar was mighty pleased and hoped that the result will inspire more to take up weightlifting and bring medals for country in the future.
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