Mirabai Chanu once thought about quitting weightlifting: I was broken after Rio Olympics 2016
If true sportsmanship is about standing up stronger every time failure tries to pin you down, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has proved that will, grit and resilience are what truly make a champion. India’s weightlifting star has clinched gold at the ongoing 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships. But did you know there was a time when the weight of self-expectations made her wonder if she should quit this strength-testing sport.
This happened after her unexpected innings at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Ahead of that competition, the Manipur girl was hailed as one of India’s brightest medal hopes for good reason. At the national selection trials, she shattered a 12-year-old record held by Kunjarani Devi, lifting 85kg in snatch and 107kg in clean and jerk for a combined total of 192kg. But at the global event, she couldn’t register a valid lift in the clean and jerk portion of the competition in the 48kg category. This became a turning point in her career.
“I had worked very hard to get a medal during the Rio Olympics… I was very sad, upset and disheartened. I also questioned myself if I should continue (in the sport). I was broken,” Mirabai Chanu told Health Shots in a throwback interview.
How Mirabai Chanu fought failure
The 31-year-old credits her coach and family for shifting her focus from failure to the future.
“Everyone around me explained how life would give me more chances. My coach motivated me by saying, ‘You can still do a lot and we should plan for the future’. That’s when I decided to recover from my disappointment quickly, work harder and focus on my shortcomings,” said Chanu, who even worked with sports psychologists to help her cope with mental pressure.
There was no looking back. Despite recurring injuries and physical ailments, she went on to secure a Gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships, the first gold medal for India in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and a silver medal for India at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. That feat made her the second Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting, since Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the Sydney Games in 2000.
One particular hip injury that Mirabai Chanu suffered during the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, turned out to be a physical and professional setback for her. She missed a medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, finishing fourth in the 49 kg category. And so, that makes her recent win at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025 worth the celebrations.
Today may not be good, but I will make tomorrow better: Mirabai Chanu’s mantra
In the Health Shots interview, Mirabai Chanu also spoke about the importance of mental health. She said: “If on some days we don’t perform well, we often go into this pressure that we couldn’t make it, and we wonder why. But now when it comes to me, I always think that ‘Aaj nahin hua, toh kal mere paas hai’. I explain to myself that today may not be good, but I will make tomorrow better. Life always gives chances.”
She is also all for women power in the world of sports.
“Some people say, ‘Ladki kuch nahi kar sakti and sports mein medals nahin le sakti (Girls can’t do anything and can’t bring medals in sports). But we have proven that we can indulge in sports, represent our state and nation at big platforms, and make people proud. Ladkiyaan chaahe toh kuch bhi kar sakti hain (if girls want, they can move mountains), for their country, for their family or for themselves,” Mirabai said on a motivational note.
When asked about the perception that weightlifting can make women look masculine, she said: “There’s nothing about muscles that won’t make a person look good! Muscle and fitness are important. Weightlifting doesn’t mean spoiling your body!”
