Fourth place for Mirabai Chanu at Paris Olympics: Injuries prove too much to overcome

Another disappointment on Day 12 at the Paris Olympics for India, as medal hopes were dashed for Mirabai Chanu. This challenge for Mirabai Chanu was not as easy as it seemed. The weightlifter from Manipur came a long way to finish fourth at the Paris Olympics.

The injury between the winning streak

Silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, and silver in the 2022 World Championships. Everything was going well for Mirabai Chanu, who was in form and had a vision to shine once again at the Paris Olympics. But a setback came for the weightlifter during the Hangzhou Asian Games when Mirabai Chanu sustained a hip injury. This shattered her dreams of getting an Asian Games medal and sidelined her from the sport for five months.

It was not the first time Chanu faced an injury. Back in 2022, during a training session, she suffered a combination of injuries, including a rotator cuff injury in her shoulder, a wrist injury, and back pain.

The difficult comeback at Paris Olympics

This was not at all an easy comeback for the Manipuri weightlifter. She managed her injuries with her American physio Dr. Aaron Horschig and coach Vijay Sharma. Overcoming hip tendonitis is not at all easy.

In 2024, Chanu was afraid of getting another injury. This year, she took part in the World Cup with a combined lift of 184 kilos, finishing 12th. She was filled with self-doubt. She only took part in this competition to prepare for the Olympics. She came back to France to train one week before the commencement of the Olympic Games. She worked with coaches, took care of her diet, and worked hard to achieve the podium finish again. Most importantly, she maintained her weight throughout.

The dedication to get a medal

In a recent interaction with InsideSport before the Paris Olympics, Chanu said, “I’m injury-free for sure now. As far as lifting weights is concerned, we have not yet started to do that at 100% capacity. We still have a fair distance to go, as far as my event is concerned.”

She spoke about her weight management too. She said, “Then as the competition approaches, we increase our protein intake, carbs reduce a bit. I eat salmon, lots of salads, then I go in for dals (pulses) as well. Rice is there in my meals too, in fact, I don’t eat at all without rice (chuckles). To load up carbs, rice can be a good option, and then of course, some cheese as well. For dinner, I have red meat,” Chanu added.