The Tokyo Olympic silver medalist easily broke milestones on her way to a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals. Commonwealth and Games records fell first in the ‘snatch’. By the time she missed lifting 115kg in her third clean and jerk (C&J) attempt, she had already written the Games record in total weight alongside C&J.
This one is special and means a lot!!! Thank you India for your continued love and support 🙏Jai Hind https://t.co/iL8KgMTaeJ
— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) 1659276342000
The numbers were never the actual reference to these Commonwealth Games for Chanu. She lifted 12kg more in snatch, 17kg more in C&J and 29kg overall than Mauritius silver medalist Marie Ranivosoa.
(AP photo)
Chanu was right. In an interview with TimesofIndia.com a few days back he called the Birmingham visit a “fight with himself”.
Gold medals aside, did Chanu achieve what was on her mind when she stepped into the Weightlifting Hall at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham?
In this interview with timesofindia.com, the 27-year-old was honest in her answers and much more.
> Let me start with a tweet posted by you, which had a video of your mother and relatives dancing to celebrate your gold medal in Manipur. Has your association turned it into a ritual now?
(laughs) I didn’t get to see my mobile phone until I finished my contest. When I was free, I saw this video sent to me by my mother. she was very happy. It is a Manipuri dance. The whole village was celebrating. Mother was really happy. I got emotional seeing that he loves me very much and always prays for my success.
My mother and other relatives celebrate victory at my house ️ https://t.co/sTCIoTDVwM
— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) 1659266070000
> You said that your fight is with yourself Commonwealth Games 2022, And so it happened, with a one-sided contest for you. How easy or difficult is it to cope with that mindset?
Yes, I already knew it was going to be easy in the Commonwealth Games. But I came here with a plan, that in this competition I have to work on myself, so that I can better plan for future events that I need to improve. But yes, with top opponents and lack of fighting (competition), it gets a bit boring.
(ANI photo)
> You used the word ‘boring’. It makes sense for an elite athlete, who has previously been a world champion, who has won an Olympic silver and now has a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals, almost to say ‘please, someone challenge me’…
(smiling) As I said, this contest was about me. Sir (Coach Vijay Sharma) also kept telling me that this competition is about you, about the work you have done… Nice too. Mind calmed down, that whatever I have worked on (I need to focus on that), to improve to move forward. It was in this spirit that I performed my lifts.
> Do you think it would have been harder in the 55kg category if that entry was cleared by the Commonwealth Federation?
I was ready for 55kg. My coach worked on me accordingly, taught me for 55kg and told me to fight and win medals for India. I told him that I was ready because I never gave up. My entry in 55kg was planned because we wanted all eight of us (female lifters) to be a part of the Commonwealth Games, but no one can compete now, there are seven of us here.
Q. Your program usually ends first; We saw this in the Tokyo Olympics as well. How do you keep your energy levels high to inspire the rest of your teammates after that?
This is very important, especially after your event is over. To get the best out of each other, it is important to be with each other. I was there Jeremy (Lalrinnunga) at the event (Jeremy won gold in the men’s 67kg category), cheering for him, screaming a lot (laughs). It was in the end a great fight with Samoan and Nigerian lifters. There’s one more lifter to compete today (July 31); I have to go for this too. That’s why teamwork is necessary. It’s not like I won a medal, so it’s over. It is important to support each other.
(PTI photo)
I couldn’t attend Sanket (Sargar) and Gururaja (Poojari) events as my competition was ahead. (Sanket started India’s medal tally with a silver medal in the men’s 55kg category, while Gururaja won a bronze in the men’s 61kg).
> Injuries are common for lifters. Do you think youngsters like Sanket and Jeremy take time to learn to control the adrenaline rush up close, especially when it comes to accurately judging how much weight they can lift, which is of course with coaches? done with the consent of?
Sometimes it becomes necessary for us to lift more weight than usual. It depends on the competition to be close to the medal. For example, if we are in silver-medal position, how much can we increase to get to gold-medal position, as the Samoan lifter today attempted to surpass Jeremy’s total weight of 300 kg in clean and jerk? tried. It is not on the players, but on the coaches. If they think the player can do it, they agree.