NAGOYA: First, the news.
Mirabai Chanu won her first Asian Games medal here on Wednesday: silver, India's first in any weightlifting discipline at this level since Karnam Malleswari in 1998.
It is like completing the Grand Slam for a tennis player or a treble with the World Cup for a footballer.
But the story of her medal goes beyond the news.
Mirabai’s lifting is no longer about barbells and weights. It's transcended that. Doctors, physios and nutritionists have become part of her life. Recovering from injuries is part of her gig. Preparation no longer depends only on lifting weights and physical training. It goes beyond that.
She has fought many battles, big and small. Every time she has been written off, she has found a way. That is why this medal would be rated among the biggest of her career. Not because it took her 12 years, but because of the timing — when the body is ageing, with aching bones and muscles because of multiple injuries and when the end is in sight.
Just before the Paris Olympics in 2024, one of her coaches had narrated a very poignant story. After returning from the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, it seemed like the walls were closing. No one came to wish her. Most of all, no one cared about her. That was after she had pocketed silver at the Tokyo Games. "When I lose, no one comes; it's really sad," she had said. She was hurt. Physical pain is part and parcel, but it was this — the mental distress — disregard that had caused her more pain. Three years later, she stood in the mixed zone and had some profound words to say.
"My life is complete now," she said, quivering with emotion. And it's easy to see why. This was the only thing missing from her CV. Now, the 32-year-old feels relieved. A burden has quietly been lifted.
She has also ensured that she would get a grand welcome upon her return.
Her support cast — head coach Vijay Sharma physio Rohit Chhabria, nutritionist Tajinder Kaur, psychologist Mugde Bavare and doctor Dinshaw Pardiwala — has also played an integral part in her journey.