A historic silver medal and a radiant smile were not the only eye-catching things about Mirabai Chanu on Saturday, her gold earrings shaped like Olympic rings were as striking, a gift from her mother who sold her own jewellery for them five years ago.
The hope was that the earrings would bring her “good luck”. It didn’t happen in the Rio 2016 Games but Chanu made the little sacrifice count in Tokyo this morning with a silver medal and Saikhom Ongbi Tombi Leima has struggled to stop her tears from flowing ever since.
“I saw the earrings on TV, I gave them to her in 2016 before the (Rio) Olympics. I have made it for her from the gold pieces and savings I have so that it brings luck and success,” Leima told PTI from her home in Manipur where a considerable number of relatives, friends and well-wishers gathered to watch Chnau script history in Tokyo.
“I was in tears seeing it and also during the moment she won the medal. Her father (Saikhom Kriti Meitei) was also in tears. Tears of joy. All her hard work has led to the success.”
Chanu ended India’s 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics by clinching a silver medal in the 49kg category to open the country’s account on Saturday.
The 26-year-old lifted a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg) to better Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
With this, she exorcised the ghosts of the 2016 Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate lift.