As Mirabai Chanu put an end to India’s 21-year-old wait for the second Olympic medal in weightlifting, her silver-clinching effort drew praise from across sports. The present and former star footballers from her native Manipur as well as another northeast state Mizoram were united in applauding the Herculean effort by the 4-feet-11-inch lifter.
“I saw that live brother! It’s an Olympic silver! She has made India, northeast and Manipur proud. Being a Manipuri myself, it feels even greater,” said former India football captain Renedy Singh in a single breath from Imphal on Saturday evening.
“In today’s age everyone can see almost anything on social media but I hope this win will inspire many youngsters watching Chanu today to take up the sport seriously. I am sure this will give more recognition to weightlifting as a sport in our country, " said Renedy.
"However, we should not just sit and shower good words, cash rewards, big posts on her upon her return from Tokyo, but we should take this as an opportunity to start a process to make more Chanus in future across the country. There’s the real worth of this medal.
“It took us 21 years to get another medal (in Olympic weightlifting) after Malleswari’s bronze in Sydney (2000) but hence we should not wait that much for another medal. Who knows, this medal can inspire even Mary Kom to a gold in her last Olympics,” added Renedy with a lot of hope.
India striker Jeje Lapekhlua said from his home in Hnahthial, Mizoram, “Chanu made all of us very happy today in this time of lockdown. She can probably inspire a lot of girls in a country like us to take up sports in general and weightlifting in particular. This medal can make a big difference in letting our families leave their girls take up sports more freely, seriously.”
