Paris Olympics know your athlete: Saikhom Mirabai Chanu cannot be written off, despite injury woes

If another word can give ‘legend’ a run for its money in the realm of overused terms in sports, it would be ‘redemption’. So common is the use of the word that fans may be left to wonder whether any professional athlete has ever managed a career sans a redemption arc.

But, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu’s is a redemption story in its truest sense. After her humble beginnings in a Manipur village, where she was noted for lifting firewood bundles too heavy for her brother, she made it big to represent India at Rio 2016. The 21-year-old failed to register a valid lift in the clean and jerk.

But, within a year, she became only the second Indian weightlifter, after Karnam Malleswari, to win gold at the World Weightlifting Championships. And when the Games reached Tokyo, Mirabai was on the podium on the opening day with a silver medal in the 49kg category.

The journey till Tokyo fits the ‘redemption’ bill, but there would be more in store. She suffered a wrist injury in training, and battled pain to win silver at the 2022 World Championships in Colombia. Then, at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, she fell and injured her thigh when her hip gave out during a clean and jerk lift. She had been in pain since her final lift in snatch, but kept pushing in the clean and jerk to try and secure a medal. The on-stage collapse was during her third try. A limping Mirabai was helped out of the arena.

She was out of action for six months. These were crucial days. In rehabilitation, she was not only missing training but qualification events as well. This led to genuine fears regarding her qualification for Paris 2024. She returned to competition in April, at the World Cup in Thailand. It was the final qualifier for the Olympics and a compulsory event for weightlifters to be eligible for Paris. Mirabai managed a twelfth-placed finish to seal her Olympic berth. She will be the only Indian weightlifter in Paris.

Mirabai has said that she was targeting a 90kg snatch (her best is 88kg) and a better clean and jerk lift in Paris. She was not lifting more than 80 kg during training. In her own words, she was 100 per cent recovered but 80-85 per cent fit in training. “I can’t set a target,” she said. “I will do what it takes and give my best to win a medal, but I can’t predict the colour.”

She has been choosy about her participation in competitions. The World Cup was her only competition after the injury. “I was apprehensive about another injury,” she said. “I didn’t want to spoil my Paris chances.”

Le Ferte-Milon, France, was her acclimatise-base. National coach Vijay Sharma and conditioning coach Dr Aaron Horschig are part of the team.

It is predicted that she will have to target a total lift of 200kg-plus to claim a second Olympic medal. Her personal best of 205kg and the then clean and jerk world record of 119kg came at the 2021 Asian Championships in Tashkent. True, there is no clear picture of her recent form. But, there is nothing to suggest that Mirabai’s determination would not get her back on the podium.

It is said that the darkest hour is just before dawn. Mirabai has worked hard through the darkness. How can dawn be far away?