Mirabai Chanu treats truck drivers who she hitched a ride with to practise daily
Tribune Web Desk
Chandigarh, August 6
It was not an easy road for Mirabai Chanu to win the first medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.
Mirabai’s village—Nongpok Kakching—was more than 25 km from the sports Academy in Manipur’s capital Imphal.
Due to the lack of funds to travel the distance, the weightlifter would hitch a ride with truckers daily, claimed an NDTV report.
For several years, the truckers would give her a lift every day.
Now, the star weightlifter has finally got the chance to express her gratitude. Mirabai treated around 150 truck drivers and helpers to a shirt, a Manipuri scarf, and a full-course lunch.
Mirabai broke down in tears when she met the drivers.
The star weightlifters said that her dream of becoming a weightlifter would not have been achieved had it not been for them.
The 26-year-old lifted a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg) in the women’s 49kg category to better Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. It was also India’s first Olympic medal in weightlifting since the Sydney Games.
“I have made many sacrifices to reach here,” she told NDTV after winning her silver medal in Tokyo.
“To be a big player or achieve something big, you have to make sacrifices and I have made many sacrifices,” she had said.
Mirabai also revealed that she had not eaten for two days before her competition. “It’s very difficult (to maintain weight). We need to strictly control our diet to maintain weight for this category,” she concluded.
