Less than half an hour into the women’s weightlifting 49kg final and before the star of the show had even made her first appearance in it, the presenter at the NEC Hall 1 described the 11-participant contest as thus: “The medals are likely to be so tight for everyone between the second and sixth place.”
India's Mirabai Chanu with the gold medal after winning women's 49kg weightlifting category match of the Commonwealth Games 2022 (PTI)
It was pretty clear to everyone present in the arena pretty early. This was the Mirabai Chanu territory, where other weightlifters were but a mention on the start list.
And she would go on to own it, until Mirabai challenged Mirabai.
In a final where the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist's Commonwealth Games record of 201kg (88kg in snatch + 113kg in clean and jerk) was 29kgs more than the next best, Mauritian Roilya Ranaivosoa (172kg), the Indian attempted her much-sought after 90kg in snatch but couldn’t pull it off.
The gold medal—Mirabai handed India the first gold at this CWG a little more than a year after she gave the country the first medal in Tokyo—was well in the pocket, though. And as she wiped away tears after the national anthem had been played, Mirabai made a quick dash towards the section where a group of Indian fans were chanting “Mirabai, Mirabai, oye, oye, oye” to show them her medal and gleefully pose for pictures.
“The Commonwealth Games, everyone knew was easy for me,” Mirabai said. “But I wanted to fight with myself, and see the impact of my work in training. It’s not that I take it easy in any competition. Each time I go up there, I want to give my best.”
Mirabai’s Tokyo Games lift totalling 202kg had a best of 87kg in snatch in her second attempt before she failed to go two kilos higher in the final try. Since then, the 90kg bridge has been Mirabai’s relentless go-to pursuit for self-improvement. Walking the lonely road in Birmingham, she almost crossed it.
Coming in last for her first attempt of 84kg, Mirabai was poker-faced amid the vociferous chants by the Indian spectators in the nearly-packed hall. Mirabai rubbed her hands, walked towards the wooden square, took a deep breath and bowed down. She walked towards the barbell and raised it without much ado. Without wasting much time, her own Games record in snatch had been rewritten.
She added four kilos to her self-challenge mode, and smiled even as she held the barbell aloft in the 88kg second attempt. That simple, isn’t it? Not quite.
The weight of the final attempt was upgraded from 89 to 90kg. Bring it on, said Mirabai.
She brought herself on, kicked the plank and let out a roar. She lifted the barbell, but her weight transferred ahead slightly. She wobbled briefly before losing her balance and her grip. The smile however still remained intact as she sat on the floor. Head coach Vijay Kumar, watching keenly from behind, too displayed a little sign of frustration but wearing with a smile too.
“Chanu is going to be running away with the gold, but come back for the other two medals,” the presenter reiterated the obvious during the short break.
The clean and jerk, where she holds the world record of 119kg, has been Mirabai’s stronger suit, and therefore the stakes were even lower there. She cleanly lifted 109kg and 113kg before faltering in her final attempt set at 115kg.
Mirabai had something else to take away from this rivalry-less outing apart from the glittery gold—her attempted 90kg in snatch. “Happy about that, even though I couldn’t do it,” she said. “Snatch I had never touched 90. But I’m confident that I will get there the next time.”
After Tokyo, Mirabai turned her attention towards bettering her technique in snatch, where the barbell is lifted in one continuous motion. After her lone international tournament since the Games in Singapore in February, she spent the entirety of March in St. Louis, USA. She would dedicate the entire undistracted amount of training time with Dr. Aaron Horschig in infusing more strength on both sides of her shoulders and tweaking her technique in snatch. A large part of the last month camped in Birmingham with the national contingent would be dedicated to snatch too.
All of that reflected in her three attempts here. Mirabai could sense as she went a step closer to overhauling that 90kg mark.
“Compared to my competitions earlier, I felt a lot better executing it (snatch) today. I could feel the change happening with the work that I have been doing. And it has only given me confidence that I can aim higher going ahead. After coming back from Tokyo, I had focused on working on my snatch, and I’m hopeful it will improve from here so that I can cross 90 too,” she said.
She has already begun talking about the World Championships in December, and how that will be her next big challenge this year. The Commonwealth Games were hardly one, anyway.
Be that as it may, Mirabai’s treasured pizza treat is calling. “Thoda toh pizza kha hi lungi (I’ll have at least some),” she said, laughing.
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