Mirabai Chanu's Final Mission Before Olympic Weight Switch
She might be India's greatest ever weightlifter, but Mirabai Chanu doesn't demand any special favours at the end of a morning training session at the Weightlifting Warriors gym in Modinagar, just outside New Delhi. Having hoisted hundreds of kilos of iron weights during an hour and a half session, the Olympic medallist now pulls the same weights off her barbell and back onto the racks.
But where most of the other elite international weightlifters at this gym, operated by national coach Vijay Sharma, stop at this point, Mirabai isn't done after the last plate is put away. She takes a cloth and wipes off the barbell, removing the white chalk deposited from her palms over the course of dozens of lifts.
"I've always done this," she tells Sportstar. "I consider the barbell nothing less than the weapon a soldier carries into battle. Just like he keeps his weapon clean, I also have to maintain my equipment. I also have to be an example to younger weightlifters."
A Record That Stands Tall
Since beginning her international career in 2014, Mirabai has built a record that will be hard to emulate. Having already won titles at the World Championships, medals at the Asian Championships, Commonwealth Games and an Olympic silver, Mirabai has shown few signs of slowing down.
Last year, she won another world medal, a silver in the women's 48kg category. Then, at the National Championships in February this year, she lifted a Personal Best of 89kg in the snatch. She followed that with a 116kg lift in the clean and jerk to total 205kg, equalling her Personal Best recorded at the 2021 Asian Championships in the 49kg category.
The Challenge Ahead
While she is in strong form, Mirabai knows this phase will be among her toughest. Last year, the International Weightlifting Federation announced that weight categories for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were being rejigged. The lightest women's category, 49kg, in which Mirabai has competed for most of the last decade and won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, was dropped from the Olympic programme.
She will have no choice but to move up to the 53kg division. She plans to first compete in this higher category at the 2026 Asian Games in Tokyo. But she has unfinished business first. Mirabai will compete in the 48kg category at both the upcoming Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games. She has already won two gold medals in this category at the latter and wants to sign off with another.
"The Commonwealth Games will be my last competition in the 48kg category. I want to leave this category by doing something special," she says. "In my last competition, I want to do better than I've ever done at the Commonwealth Games. I already hold the Commonwealth record and will try to achieve even more."
She has a number in mind, a 90kg snatch and a 120kg clean and jerk.
Building Confidence
"I got a lot of confidence from the National Championships. I lifted 89kg in the snatch on my second attempt. Then I attempted 91kg in my third. I've never attempted anything above 90kg in training. So even though I didn't complete the lift, it gives me confidence to simply attempt that weight in competition," she explains.
Mirabai's confidence also comes from staying injury free for much of the past couple of years. "In my career, I've suffered a lot of injuries to my joints, wrists and shoulders. But I've been working on my technique, especially in the first and second pull of the snatch and how I receive the bar overhead. All this has helped me avoid injuries," she says.
The Missing Medal
Mirabai has another goal this year, a medal at the Asian Games. For all her accomplishments, she has never medalled at the continental event. Her closest finish was fourth at Hangzhou.
"I've never won a medal at the Asian Games. I've done everything else. This is the one medal I don't have. More than anything, that's my target this year," she says.
The Difficult Transition
The move to the 53kg division will be challenging. At 4'11, Mirabai will not find it easy to add the additional 5kg of muscle mass, more than 10 per cent of her body weight, that she will need.
The level of competition will also be higher. At last year's World Championships, the bronze medal total was 200kg, compared to 198kg in the women's 48kg category. Additionally, many of her competitors have already been preparing for the 53kg category, while Mirabai will only transition after the Commonwealth Games.
Yet, she isn't overly concerned. Lifting 205kg at her current body weight gives her confidence that she can lift more with additional muscle.
Looking Forward
She is, in fact, looking forward to one aspect of the transition. "I've been 48 to 49kg for many years. One of the hardest things was constantly controlling what I ate. After the Tokyo Olympics, Domino's gave me a free pizza for life deal, but I never really used it because I couldn't eat it! So one thing I'm looking forward to is eating a bit more," she says with a smile.
At 31, Mirabai knows she is in the latter stages of her career, but she is determined to push as long as she can.
"People say that in sport you start deteriorating with age. That may be true. But I believe motivation matters just as much. Every competition motivates me. As long as I have that motivation, I'll keep fighting," she says.
