Glasgow (Scotland): Mirabai Chanu, who won India’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday and completed a hat-trick of Commonwealth Games gold medals, celebrated her latest triumph by enjoying her favourite food—pizza. The 31-year-old weightlifter from Manipur treated herself to a hearty meal after her remarkable victory.
ㅤ
Like every elite weightlifter, Mirabai has to follow a strict diet. In particular, she has to be extremely careful during the three days leading up to her 48kg weight category event. To maintain her competition weight, she barely ate during those three days before Sunday’s event. Despite the physical challenge, she delivered a record-breaking performance by lifting a total of 190kg, including 85kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk.
ㅤ
Before the Commonwealth Games, Mirabai was training in Birmingham, England. During an interaction, she was asked what she would want first if she won a medal. Smiling, she replied, “Please bring me a pizza.”
ㅤ
After Mirabai won the gold medal on Sunday, journalists surprised her by bringing pizza. She was delighted and said, “I hadn’t eaten properly for several days. Thank you so much for bringing my favourite pizza. Whenever I win a medal in the future, please make sure you bring me pizza again.”
ㅤ
In an earlier interview, Mirabai had revealed, “I love junk food, and pizza is my absolute favourite. However, I have to avoid eating it before competitions and during training to maintain my 48kg weight category.”
ㅤ
Tricolour hairpin and tears of joy
ㅤ
Whenever Mirabai Chanu competes at a major international event, she likes to wear something that reflects her patriotism and represents India. During the Tokyo Olympics, she wore earrings inspired by the Olympic Games. On another occasion, she painted her nails in the colours of the Indian tricolour. This time too, she wanted to do something unique before stepping onto the weightlifting platform.
ㅤ
Instead of colouring her nails again, Mirabai decided to create something different. With very little time available, she made a butterfly-shaped hairpin herself on Saturday night using ribbons in the colours of the Indian tricolour. Wearing the special hairpin on Sunday filled her with pride as she went on to win the gold medal.
ㅤ
This was Mirabai’s third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal, having also won the title in 2018 and 2022. After adding another gold to her collection, the Olympic silver medallist said, “When I stood on the podium, watched the Indian flag being raised and listened to the national anthem, tears of joy naturally filled my eyes. Winning India’s first gold medal at this Commonwealth Games made the moment even more special. I am grateful to every Indian who prayed for my success.”
ㅤ
Mirabai also said in the interview, “I have won many medals during my career, but I still don’t have an Asian Games medal. My biggest goal now is to win a gold medal at the Asian Games in Japan this September. I want to win it for my country, for my mother and for my coach.”
Also Read – Isha Singh wins Shooting World Cup gold; Manu Bhaker bags bronze for India
-
-
-
-
