Maligaon, July 24: The N. F. Railway weightlifter Miss Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won the first medal for India in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. She won a silver medal in the 49 kg category of women weightlifting.
The 27- year – old weightlifter managed to lift a total 202 kg (87 kg in snatch+115 kg in clean and jerk), becoming the second weightlifter after Karnam Malleswari 2000 Sydney Olympics to win a medal at the Olympic Games. With this monumental silver medal, she became the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal in Olympics.
Mirabai Chanu has the world record of 119 kg in clean and jerk at the 2021 Asian Weightlifting Championships held at Tashkent, in April 2021. The Khel Ratna award winner weightlifter won gold in Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast Australia, 2018. She also represented India in the Rio Olympic Games, Brazil, 2016.
The N.F. Railway employee Padma Shree Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, a resident of Nongpok Kakching, Laimaning, District – Imphal East, Manipur was promoted as Officer on Special Duty (Sports) in the N. F. Railway in April, 2018. Railway fraternity congratulates Mirabai Chanu for her splendid performance in Olympics and making everyone proud.