Mirabai Chanu lands in Tokyo

Tokyo, Jul 16: Ace Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu on Friday reached Tokyo from her training base in the USA for the upcoming Olympic Games, beginning on July 23.
Chanu, India’s lone weightlifter at the Olympics, landed here along with national coach Vijay Sharma and assistant coach Sandip Kumar after undergoing a 50-day training stint in St Louis, USA.
Another coach Pramod Sharma and physiotherapist Aalap Javadekar also accompanied Chanu for the Tokyo Games, which was delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 26-year-old Indian will be competing in the 49 kg category in her second Olympics.
Chanu, who won gold medals in the 2017 World Championships and 2018 Commonwealth Games in the 48kg category, had a disappointing outing at the Rio Games.
India will be represented by 228-strong contingent, including 119 athletes, at the the Tokyo Olympics. (PTI)