From Carrying Firewood As A Child To Winning A Commonwealth Games Gold - Mirabai Chanu Is Lifting India To Glory

If one name is popping up in Indian weightlifting over the last couple of years, it is that of Mirabai Chanu. A world class lifter from our country, Mirabai has represented us at the top level and won laurels for the nation on the big stage.

Like most sportspersons, Mirabai's talent was spotted at an early age. In fact it was her parents who noticed that at the age of 12, she possessed a great deal of strength. She could easily carry bundles of firewood to her house which her elder brother could barely pick up. From there, there was no looking back.

She burst onto the international scene in style when she took home a silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. She became an overnight sensation and a household name in India. Suddenly everyone was discussing her as a potential candidate for the future. But it was only a sign of things to come.

In 2017, she won gold at the World Championships. This was proof that her Commonwealth Games silver was no fluke. However, she was far from done. The following year a Commonwealth Games Gold followed and Mirabai was truly on top of the world.

In the 2019 World Championships she set a national record of 201 kilograms but finished fourth. The same year she clinched bronze at the Asian Championships.

2020 saw her break her own national record and lift 203 kilos to take home gold at the National Championships.

Mirabai's success did not go unnoticed in India as she was awarded both the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Padma Shri in 2018. She is only 25, and still going strong in her sport.

An Olympic medal is what is missing in this haul of medals. If that happens, she will go down as perhaps our greatest lifter of all time. But regardless of whether it happens or not, Mirabai is already leaving her legacy behind as she literally lifts India to glory.