Two times CWG medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu reveals that she wanted to be an archer but her eventual coach changed her career plans. Mirabai’s story is not of somebody being spotted for lavish talent but of someone who hunted out the opportunity and the right mentor.
As a 13-year-old girl from a poor family at the Nongpok Kakching village, around 20km from Manipur’s capital Imphal, Mirabai decided early in her life that she would earn fame as a sportsperson.
In search of a sports facility and a mentor, she travelled with a cousin to the Sports Authority of India Center at Khuman Lampak in Imphal in early 2008 and the rest is history.
“All my brothers and cousins play football but they would come back home dirty after a day’s play. I wanted to play a sport which is neat and clean. At first, I wanted to be an archer as they are neat and clean and stylish,” Mirabai told PTI in an interview as reported by TOI
“They just stand and shoot. So one day I and my cousin went to SAI Center at Khuman Lampak in Imphal. But I could not meet any archer as there was no archery training that day,” she racalled.
“Then at that time I saw some clippings of Kunajarani Devi’s exploits in international arena and that influenced me to take up to weightlifting. So after a few days, me and my cousin again went to the weightlifting training center and luckily I met (former international weightlifter and current coach) Anita Chanu and she initiated me into the sport,” said Mirabai, now 23.
Manipur Weightlifting Association General Secretary Sunil Elangbam, who has tracked Mirabai’s career throughout, said, “When she came for archery training, as far as I remembered, it was a rainy day or training camp had finished earlier.
“Sometimes luck also plays a part in an athlete’s career. It is good Mirabai could not be an archer and she took to weightlifting.”
Mirabai faced also of struggle in maintaining the balance between her academics and training.
“I had to reach the training centre everyday at 6am and change bus twice from my village in a 22km journey,” she said
“It was tough initially but I adjusted. Also, I consider myself a strong girl. When I grew up I did stuff like wood cutting at nearby hills, bringing them up by myself and then fetching water from nearby ponds in milk powder cans,” she added.
Mirabai lifted a total weight of 196kg (86kg+110kg) at Gold Coast CWG, she now set her sight to lift over 200kg at the Asian Games later this year which she says, will be done by improving her hand and leg movement coordination during jerk lifts.
“All top competitors in Asian Games will be there in Olympics and if I win gold in Asian Games I will have the confidence to win gold in Olympics also. But to do that, I cannot remain at 196kg.
“I have no weakness in snatch which is all about technique. But I have to sort out my weakness in jerk. I can do 115kg in clean but I am not being able to do it in jerk. I have to work upon my hand and leg movement coordination during jerk. If I do that I will be able to lift 115kg in clean and jerk and that should take my total lift above 200kg,” she said.
Talking about her CWG performance, she said, “I was very confident to win the gold. I was nervous at Rio Olympics. But after winning gold in World Championships I was very confident and sure of winning a gold in the CWG.”
