Delhi Airport: Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was given a warm welcome on her return to India after a sensational performance at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Monday (July 26). The silver medalist underwent a mandatory RT-PCR test at the Delhi airport. Chanu started the medal tally for India by winning a silver medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Tokyo International Forum on Saturday.
She lifted a total of 202 kg (87 kg in snatch and 115 kg in clean and jerk) during her four successful attempts at the competition.
Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu receives a warm welcome as the staff at the Delhi airport cheered for her upon her arrival from Tokyo Olympics.
China’s Zhihui Hou won the gold medal with a total of 210kg and set a new Olympic record, while Indonesia’s Windi Kentika Aisha won the bronze with a total of 194kg.
With this monumental silver medal, Chanu has become the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal, after Karnam Malleswari won a bronze medal in the 69kg category at the 2000 Sydney Games, when the weightlifting field was opened to women for the first time.
Additionally,Chanu was greeted as chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. Chanu has also been a former world champion and a Commonwealth Games gold-medalist.