On January 15, athlete Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in Women’s 49 kg category in weightlifting in July last year, joined as the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) in Manipur police in the presence of chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh at the latter’s official residence in Imphal.
The tweet:
On January 15, while sharing a few photographs of the event in a tweet, weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu wrote, “It is an honour to have joined the Manipur Police as the Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports). I would like to thank the state of Manipur and our Hon’ble Chief Minister @NBirenSingh sir, for giving me this opportunity to serve the country and its citizens.”
In another tweet she wrote, “Proud moment for me and my parents who have supported me in every step of my journey as I join office with the Manipur Police as the Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports). Thank you mom and dad for your sacrifices, I feel happy to make you both proud.”
The Olympian was accompanied by her father Saikhom Kriti Meitei and mother Saikhom Tombi when she took charge of the new assignment in the official uniform.
Earlier appointed as ASP (Sports):
The Manipur government had earlier appointed her as ASP (Sports) after her performance at the Olympics. Chanu after taking the charge of ASP (Sports), made a courtesy call to Chief Minister N. Biren Singh, who earlier gave her a reward of Rs 1 crore.
About Mirabai Chanu:
Mirabai Chanu, a resident of i Manipur’s capital city Imphal, was born on August 8, 1994, in Imphal and is 26 years old. She won her first gold medal in a local weightlifting competition when she was 11 years old. Later, she began her international weightlifting career by competing in the World and Asian Junior Championships, where she won medals in both. She idolises Indian weightlifter Kunjarani Devi.
Mirabai Chanu, is one of India’s biggest weightlifting stars. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, the girl from the East Imphal district of Manipur scripted history as she won the silver medal in the Women’s 49 kg Weightlifting event at the Tokyo Olympics. She began winning international medals and getting recognition at a young age by competing on the international stage. Mirabai Chanu was considered a favourite in the women’s 49kg category in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Achievements:
Mirabai Chanu first demonstrated her potential on the international stage when she earned a silver medal in the 48kg category at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, at the age of 20.
Mirabai won the gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim, USA, in 2017. She became the first Indian weightlifter to achieve it in over two decades.
Chanu suffered a lower back injury in 2018, making it impossible for her to compete in any of the events throughout the year. She made a remarkable comeback in 2019 in the World Championships in Thailand. Despite finishing fourth, she made the event memorable by surpassing the 200 kg mark for the first time in her career.
During the 2021 Asian weightlifting championships in Tashkent in April, Mirabai Chanu set a new world record in the women’s 49kg clean and jerk with a lift of 119kgs. Chanu, on the other hand, had to settle for a bronze medal in the Asian meet due to subpar performance in the snatch.
N. Biren Singh, the Chief Minister of Manipur, honoured Chanu and awarded her with a prize of 2 million rupees. She was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India’s highest civilian sports honour, in 2018. Chanu was given the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2018.
Mirabai Chanu won Silver Medal at Tokyo Olympics 2020 and was the only Indian Weightlifter competing from the Indian contingent in Weightlifting.
