Tokyo Olympics: Proud to be Mirabai's mother - parents express pride after 'hardworking daughter' wins silver
Mirabai is the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics and the first since Karnam Malleswari in 2000 to win any medal in the sport at the Games
In Short
- Mirabai Chanu is the first Indian weightlifter to win silver at the Olympics
- Mirabai is also the first Indian weightlifter since Karnam Malleswari in 2000 to win any Olympic medal
- Her mother said that she was a little nervous but had little doubt that she would win a medal
While she was nervous, Mirabai Chanu's mother had little doubt that her daughter will win a medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Friends and relatives flocked into Mirabai's home in Nongpok Kakching, 30km from Imphal, to watch her compete on Saturday with her parents and they all went up in celebration when she won the medal.
"I was fully confident that my daughter would bring something for our country," her mother told India Today.
"I was a little bit nervous about what the result when I saw the early parts on the television. I was just hoping that the kind of work my daughter has put in will help her win a medal. My daughter is a very hardworking girl. I am proud to be Mirabai's mother," she further said.
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Mirabai is the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics and the first since Karnam Malleswari in 2000 to win any medal in the sport at the Games.
"I am very happy that my daughter got silver medal in Tokyo, it's really a dream come true. My daughter faced many hardships in the beginning. She used to go around 35km sitting on the roof of sandy trucks for practise at Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal daily. I am proud of my daughter who brought this laurel for India."
Mirabai herself said that she has been dreaming of this moment for the past five years after her campaign at the 2016 Rio Olympics collapsed early. "I have been dreaming of this for the past five years. I am very proud of myself right now. I don't just belong to Manipur, I belong to the whole country," she said.