TOKYO, July 24: Indian weightlifter from Manipur, Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in Weightlifting (49kg) category to open India’s medal account at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Mirabai Chanu created history by clinching India’s first silver medal in weightlifting in Olympics’ so far.
The 26-year-old weightlifter scored a total of 202 during the 49kg category final to create Indian history.
China’s Hou Zhihui clinched the gold medal in the event, while the bronze medal was won by Indonesia.
Chanu completed her first and second snatch attempts at 84kg and 87kg respectively, before failing the 89kg attempt. In the Clean and Jerk event, she successfully lifted weights of 110kg and 115kg.
Chanu was seen as one of India’s strongest medal contender at the Olympics this year and was in fine form in the build-up to the Games. She had created the Clean and Jerk world record in April earlier this year in her category, lifting 114kg.
In the final, China’s Zhihui created an Olympic record by lifting 94kg in the snatch event. She led the table after the end of snatch, while topped the Clean and Jerk tally.
This was Chanu’s second appearance at Olympics. In the Rio edition in 2016, she had failed in her first snatch attempt of 82kg. On her second attempt, she was able to lift 82kg before failing in the third attempt at 84kg. She also flunked all three attempts in the Clean and Jerk.