From carrying firewood to lifting a nation: Mirabai Chanu's golden journey comes full circle

Guwahati/Glasgow, July 26: Every champion has an origin story. For weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, it began not in the hallowed halls of a modern gym, but in the forested hills surrounding Nongpok Kakching, a small village in Manipur’s Imphal East district.

As a child, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu accompanied her siblings into the hills to collect firewood. Family members often recall how, while her elder brother struggled with heavy bundles of logs, young Mirabai carried them with remarkable ease. What was then an everyday chore would later emerge as the first sign of a girl blessed with extraordinary strength and quiet determination, qualities that would one day help her carry not just logs, but the hopes of a nation.

Sunday was one of those moments when her remarkable journey came full circle.

The 31-year-old clinched her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow, becoming the first Indian weightlifter to complete a hat-trick of Commonwealth titles and further cementing her place among India’s greatest sporting icons.Raised in a modest Meitei household, where her father worked with the Public Works Department and her mother managed the family, Mirabai grew up far from privilege. Resources were scarce, but determination was not.

Her life changed when Anita Chanu, then a coach at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, spotted the teenager’s exceptional strength and persuaded her to pursue weightlifting seriously. Under her guidance, Mirabai’s dreams began stretching far beyond the boundaries of her village.

Those dreams, however, demanded sacrifice.

To train in Imphal, she travelled nearly 60 kilometres every day. When buses were unavailable, she often hitched rides on sand-laden trucks heading to the city. Years later, after winning her historic Olympic silver medal in Tokyo, Mirabai sought out those very truck drivers, invited them to her village and touched their feet in gratitude—a gesture that revealed the humility that has remained constant despite her success.

Her rise through Indian weightlifting was rapid.

After winning medals on the junior international circuit, Mirabai announced herself on the senior stage with a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, signalling the arrival of one of India’s brightest sporting talents.

Then came Rio.

The 2016 Olympic Games proved to be the darkest chapter of her career. Mirabai failed to register a single successful clean and jerk lift, crashing out without a valid attempt. The heartbreak left her devastated. She later admitted that the disappointment pushed her into depression and made her question whether she should continue competing.

That heartbreak became the defining turning point of her career.
Working alongside national coach Vijay Sharma, Mirabai rebuilt her technique, regained her confidence and rediscovered her love for the sport. Sharma focused not only on improving her lifts but also on restoring the self-belief that had been shattered in Rio. Together, they forged one of the most successful athlete-coach partnerships in Indian sport.

The comeback was extraordinary.

In 2017, Mirabai won the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, ending India’s 22-year wait for a world champion in the sport. A year later, she stormed to Commonwealth Games gold at Gold Coast, setting a Games record in the process.

Her defining moment came at the Tokyo Olympics, where she lifted a total of 202 kg to win the silver medal, becoming only the second Indian weightlifter to stand on an Olympic podium. The image of Mirabai smiling with the Tricolour draped across her shoulders instantly became one of Indian sport’s most enduring images.

She successfully defended her Commonwealth title in Birmingham in 2022, despite battling recurring hip and back injuries. Around this time, internationally renowned strength and mobility specialist Dr Aaron Horschig joined her support team, helping her manage injuries while continuing to compete at the highest level.

The road to Paris was equally demanding.

Injuries disrupted her preparations and she missed an Olympic medal by the narrowest of margins just one kilogram. But, much like after Rio, Mirabai refused to let disappointment define her. She quietly returned to training, determined to begin again.

That perseverance was rewarded once again in Glasgow.

Her latest triumph adds another glittering chapter to an already extraordinary career, a World Championship gold, an Olympic silver medal, three successive Commonwealth Games gold medals, besides numerous honours on the Asian and international circuit.

She is also a recipient of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the Padma Shri, and serves as an Additional Superintendent of Police in Manipur.

Congratulating Mirabai on her latest achievement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed her determination and consistency, saying she continues to inspire millions of Indians. Leaders from across the country and members of the sporting fraternity also celebrated her latest triumph as another milestone in an already remarkable career.

For young athletes across the Northeast, Mirabai Chanu has become much more than a champion. She is living proof that extraordinary talent can emerge from the humblest of beginnings when matched with relentless perseverance.

The medals are only a part of Mirabai Chanu’s story.

The rest is written in the forests of Nongpok Kakching, on the back of sand trucks that carried a determined teenager to training, in the tears she shed after Rio, in the redemption of Tokyo, in the one-kilogram heartbreak of Paris, and now in Glasgow, where a third Commonwealth Games gold has once again shown that greatness is built on the courage to rise after every setback.

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