Delhi sports minister meets Mirabai Chanu, seeks her help to build sports centres of excellence

Delhi Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ashish Sood met weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu on Wednesday to congratulate her on her Asian Games silver medal, which brought India its first weightlifting medal at the Games in 28 years. The minister invited her to partner with the Delhi government’s sports vision. Sood praised Chanu for bringing laurels to the country through her continuous hard work and 
dedication.

During the meeting, Sood shared the Delhi government’s plan to build state-of-the-art Sports Centres of Excellence in the capital and requested Chanu to partner with the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry to help guide and develop these facilities. He also invited her to join round-table discussions and advisory panels to help formulate strategies for sports and youth development in Delhi.
Officials noted that Chanu currently trains in the Delhi NCR region and runs a weightlifting academy in Ghaziabad with her coach, Vijay Sharma, training around 100 young weightlifters, giving her direct ground-level experience relevant to the government’s plans.

“Mirabai Chanu is a role model for young athletes across the nation. Her ground-level experience will be invaluable as we work towards creating world-class sports infrastructure in the national capital,” Sood said.
Chanu’s major international achievements include one Asian Games silver medal, one Olympic silver medal, three World Championship medals comprising two gold and one bronze, and four Commonwealth Games medals comprising three gold and one silver.