Mirabai Chanu Height, Weight, Age, Husband, Family, Biography & More

Mirabai Chanu 

Bio/Wiki

Full Name: Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

Profession: Indian Weightlifter

Physical Stats & More

Height (approx.)

in centimeters- 150 cm

in meters- 1.50 m

in feet inches- 4’ 11”

Weight (approx.)

in kilograms- 48 kg

in pounds- 106 lbs

Eye Colour: Black

Hair Colour: Dark Brown

Personal Life

Date of Birth: 8 August 1994

Age (as of 2020): 26 Years

Birthplace : Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India

Zodiac sign: Leo

Nationality: Indian

Hometown: Manipur , India

Religion: Hinduism

Food Habit : Non-Vegetarian

Hobbies : Travelling, Listening to Music

Weightlifting

Event : 49 kg

Coach : Vijay Sharma

Mirabai Chanu with her Coach Vijay Sharma

Medals

Commonwealth Games

• Silver - Glasgow (2014)

• Gold - Gold Coast (2018)

World Championships

• Anaheim (2017)

Asian Championships

• Bronze - Tashkent (2020)

Records In April 2021, she set a new world record with an incredible 119kg lift in clean and jerk at the Asian Championships held in Tashkent. [1]

Tokyo Olympics 

• Silver - Tokyo(2021)

Awards, Honours, Achievements

• Felicitated by N. Biren Singh (the Chief Minister of Manipur) with a cash prize of ₹2 Million (₹20 Lakh)

Mirabai Chanu receiving check from N. Biren Singh

• Padma Shri in 2018

• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for Weightlifting in 2018

Mirabai Chanu receiving Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

Relationships & More

Marital Status: Unmarried

Family

Husband/Spouse: N/A

Parents

Father: Saikhom Kriti Meitei (an employee at the Public Works Department)

Mother: Saikohm Ongbi Tombi Leima (Shopkeeper)

Mirabai Chanu's Family

Siblings

Brother- Saikhom Sanatomba Meitei

Sister(s)- Saikom Rangita, Saikhom Shaya

Note: She has 5 siblings.

Favourite Things

Food: Kangsoi

Mirabai Chanu 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mirabai Chanu

Mirabai Chanu was born and brought up in Manipur, India.  He is the sixth and youngest child in his family.

His idol is Kunjarani Devi.  In an interview he told that

“When I was a kid, I saw Kunjarani Devi for the first time, the game looked so appealing, I was amazed how she was lifting such a heavy weight. So I told my parents that I wanted to do it  , very reluctantly they agreed. In our state you can compare Kunjarani with weightlifting and Sania Mirza with tennis. Every Manipuri girl wanted to be like her. I saw Kunjarani Devi's performance in 2004 Olympics and the podium of glory  dreamed.

  

Kunjarani Devi, the inspiration of Mirabai Chanu

He started weightlifting in 2008 at the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex in Imphal, India.  There was no weightlifting center in his village during his childhood days.  Therefore, he had to travel 44 km daily for training.  he also said that

“The coaches would give us a diet chart in which chicken and milk were an essential part.  But, due to her family situation, she could not afford it every day.  "

He won the first competitive gold medal of his career at the age of 11 in a local weightlifting competition.

His real weightlifting journey began in 2011 when he participated in the 2011 International Youth Championship and South Asian Junior Games.  He won gold medals in these games.

In 2013, he participated in the Junior National Championships in Guwahati, India.  There he was awarded the Best Lifter Award.

In 2014, he represented India at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (a city in Scotland).  Here she won the silver medal in the women's 48 kg category by lifting a total of 170 kg.

On 31 August 2015, he was appointed as a Senior Ticket Collector in the Indian Railways.

In 2016, she qualified for the Rio Olympics in the women's 48kg category.  Unfortunately, she did not finish her event and failed to win any medals.  In an interview he said that

"I was really low after the Olympics. It took me a long time to recover from the disappointment. I even thought of quitting the sport and stopping training. The comments on social media, the criticism against my coach really hurt me.  "

In 2017, she was selected for the World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, CA, USA in the women's 48 kg category.  She lifted 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean and jerk) and brought India a gold medal after 22 years;  Since 1995.  Prior to him, Karnam Malleswari had won two gold medals at the World Weightlifting Championships in 1994 and 1995.

For the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships, she had to miss her sister "Shaya"'s wedding which was in Manipur on November 22.  In an interview with TOI, she said,

“Everyone back home was upset by my decision to miss my sister's wedding.  I came to California on November 12 to prepare for war because I wanted to erase the bad memories of my disappointing Rio Olympic campaign.  This gold is the best wedding gift I could have given to my sister."

Then, she represented India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and won India's first gold medal in weightlifting in the women's 48 kg category on 5 April.  She lifted a total of 196 kg (86 kg in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk).  Lifting 196 kg, she broke the previous weightlifting record, which was 175 kg, set by Augustine Novakolo of Nigeria in 2010.

On 25 September 2018, he was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games;  Which is the highest sporting honor of the Republic of India by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu gave India its first medal at Tokyo 2020 as she won the silver medal in the women's 49kg category as China's Zhihu Hou took gold. Chanu lifted 84kg and 87kg successfully but failed to lift 89kg as she was placed in second spot after snatch while China's Zhihu lifted 94kg to create an Olympic record.

Tags: #MirabaiChanu #TokyoOlympic2021 #SilverMedal