Mirabai Chanu becomes the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics

• With this win, she has opened the tally for India in this Olympics.
• Chanu’s historic win came in the women’s 49 kilogram category.
• The gold went to China's Hou Zhihui.

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has created history for India in the Tokyo Olympics by bagging the country's first ever silver medal in weightlifting. With this win, she has also opened the tally for India in this Olympics. This is also the first time India has won a medal on the opening day of an Olympics. Chanu’s historic win came in the women’s 49 kilogram category.

Chanu -- who hails from India’s Manipur state -- was seen as one of the strongest medal contenders from India this year and this is her second entry in the Olympics. The first time, when she entered the Rio Olympics, she was not able to give it her best, but this time she has made the country proud.

The gold went to China's Hou Zhihui, who was just too good on Saturday, July 24.

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the country in congratulating Mirabai Chanu, who ended India's 21-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Olympics.

The 26-year-old lifted a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg) to better Karnam Malleswari's bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and open India's account in Tokyo.

With this, she exorcised the ghosts of the 2016 Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate lift.

(With inputs from PTI)




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