Mirabai Chanu: The Manipur Lass Who Brought Weightlifting Back Into Public Consciousness

Often labelled as 'delicate' and 'weak' with the ever-increasing disparity in wages highlighting their plight which is further marred by the lack of fanfare and recognition, the success stories of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami in cricket, Saina Nehwal and PV Sindu in badminton and Mary Kom and Sarita Devi in boxing goes on to show that women are not just fighting against all odds, but have also shunned the naysayers by proving their mettle in male-dominated sports. On 29 November, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu became the latest addition to this group of spirited Indian sportswomen who are hell-bent on changing the country's perception about women's sports. Goosebumpsð®ð³ð®ð³ð®ð³!#MirabaiChanu U made every Indian proud by winning Goldðin World Weightlifting Championship..Congratsðð Your achievement will inspire millions of young girlsðª http://pic.twitter.com/GnbymXeiid — Maj Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) November 30, 2017 Standing on the podium with a gold medal around her neck and seeing the Indian tricolour flying high after overwhelming tournament-favourite Thunya Sukcharoen in California, Chanu was an embodiment of success - achieved on the back of great perseverance, hardwork and sheer will - giving a desperate shot in the arm to Indian weightlifting. What a fantastic day for #Indian sport! Huge congratulations to Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for winning the #Gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championship ðªððð #Champion #Superstar http://pic.twitter.com/hOhFKa9Ems — Vinesh Phogat (@Phogat_Vinesh) November 30, 2017 Ending her country's wait of 22 years, the Manipuri weightlifter etched her name in history as the first Indian in over two decades and only the second overall to bag a World Championships gold in weightlifting. India's more-popular weightlifter Karnam Malleswari had bagged gold medals in the competition back in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Competing in the women's 48kg category, the 23-year-old lifted a combined weight of 194kg - 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk - which was just one kg over the best attempt of the tournament favourite from Thailand, but good enough to cause a big upset. Congratulations to Saikhom #MirabaiChanu for lifting Gold at the World Weightlifting Championship and creating a World record. Entire nation is proud of http://you.pic.twitter.com/JpBEetHVmT — Naveen Jindal (@MPNaveenJindal) November 30, 2017 But, Chanu's triumphant outing in the US is not about national pride, records and fanfare; in fact it's much more than that. Hers was a campaign aimed at finding her lost vigour and overcoming the demons of past failures notably the horrific 2016 Rio Olympics. After claiming the national record in the women's 192kg category from her idol Kunjarani Devi in the run-up to the Olympic Games, Chanu witnessed a disastrous debut at the grandest stage of all. With a bout of nerves getting the better of her, the young weightlifter could only manage to successfully lift just one of her six attempts - three in the snatch and three in the clean and jerk category. Reuters Out of the 12 lifters in the women's 48kg category in Rio, she was one of the two participants who did not finish (DNF) the event. Her dreams were shattered, years of hardwork in training camps came to naught and India's struggle in women's weightlifting took centre stage. But, Manipur is famous for producing athletes who don't believe in giving up, Mary Kom is a prime example and Chanu proved no different. Learning from her mistakes, she continued to believe in herself and so did her coaches and selectors. As her training resumed after the Rio horror, Chanu was reminded of her struggles that included the long hours of cycling from her home to a weightlifting centre that sparked her love for the sport. At times, she was told how much the country had invested in her at national camps and how everyone around continues to believe in her talent and potential. BCCL And, not so surprisingly, all the efforts - her own and those of selectors and coaches - have finally borne fruit at one of the prestigious tournaments in the world. Chanu has also broken free from the shadows of Kunjarani Devi and Karnam Malleswari as her achievement at the World Championships goes beyond her personal struggles and eventual glory. More importantly, in the bigger scheme of things, just like Mithali, Saina and Sindhu have inspired younger girls and fellow sportswomen to come out of the shadows of their male counterparts, the Manipur lass has undoubtedly given Indian weightlifting a shot in the arm by bringing the sport back into the collective public consciousness.