India's star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu said after winning the silver medal in the Asian Games that it is like a dream come true. Mirabai had won medals in every major event from the Olympics to the World Championship, but she was still far from a podium finish in the Asiad. She ended this wait by lifting a total weight of 198 kg in the Women's 49 kg category on Wednesday (23 September). Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai lifted 88 kg in snatch and 111 kg in clean and jerk.
This is India's first Asiad medal in weightlifting since Karnam Malleswari won bronze in 1998. After this historic achievement, Mirabai said, 'Winning a medal in the Asian Games is like a dream come true. I was trying for this medal for the last 12 years, since the 2014 Asian Games. My life is complete with this medal. Now I am feeling very light. These are the Asian Games of my dreams.
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This time the dream came true – Mirabai
Mirabai had finished ninth in her first Asian Games in 2014. She could not participate in the 2018 Asian Games due to a back injury, while she had finished fourth in the previous Asian Games. On Wednesday, she reached the stage wearing gold earrings similar to the Olympic rings gifted by her mother and with a tricolor ribbon in her hair, determined to win the medal.
Mirabai started with 83 kg in the snatch and then lifted 85 kg and 87 kg in her next two attempts to finish third in the first leg of the competition. After this, he won his first medal in the Asian Games by lifting a weight of 111 kg in clean and jerk. After the silver medal was assured, he did not take his last attempt.
Mirabai said, 'Ever since I started weightlifting, my dream has been to win a medal in the Asian Games. Something or the other kept happening before or during the Asian Games but this time I fulfilled my dream.
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What did Mirabai say on 2028 Olympics?
Mirabai was so committed to winning this medal that she started practicing the very next day after winning the gold medal in the recent Commonwealth Games. Now his aim will be to win a medal in the Olympics to be held in 2028. He said, 'I have not yet decided my strategy for the Los Angeles Olympics. The qualification process will start in December. I will celebrate this medal for some time and then decide.