TOKYO: Weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu entered the history books Saturday with a scintillating performance to secure a Silver medal, lifting 202 kg in the 49kg weight category.
The Padamshree pocket dynamo's Silver winning lift not only ended India's 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal (Karnam Malleswari won Bronze at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games) but also opened Team India's medal count at the 32nd Summer Tokyo Olympic Games.
Mirabai joins PV Sindhu (Rio 2016) as only the second Indian woman athlete to take an individual Silver medal at an Olympic Games.
Her first lift in snatch was 84 kg followed by 87 kg in second and 89 kg in third attempts which went unsuccessful. Adding over from snatch event, she lifted 110 kg, 115 kg in clean & jerk and 117 kg in third attempt which went unsuccessful, finally making a total of 202 kg.
With this, she exorcised the ghosts of the 2016 Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate lift. The Gold went to China's Hou Zhihui with an effort of 210kg (94kg+116kg), while Aisah Windy Cantika of Indonesia took home the Bronze with an effort of 194kg (84kg+110kg).
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