The silence in the weightlifting hall at NIS Patiala is broken by the sound of dropping weights and the loud groans of men and women lifting twice their body weight. Mirabai Chanu is sweating in a corner with a gentle musical instrument playing in the background, her shiny shoes and bright smile contrasting with the quiet surroundings.
Watching elite athletes train is an immersive experience. The lifter has a meditative routine in preparation, followed by a demonstration of speed, rhythm, and power and technique during the pull up. This time it's a deadlift 95kg routine.
Place the barbell at your feet, open your eyes, straighten your back, and begin the lift. It's almost perfect, but something seems off. National coach Vijay Sharma gave a loud pep talk. “Mira, cheer up a little. Show your anger,” he begs. And Chanu departs again, this time with more purpose and more weight.
“Sometimes I see Paris when I'm in the elevator,” she said, explaining the visualization. “I feel the audience. I see my competitors. I try to live the tension and excitement as I lift the barbell. I also see myself standing on the podium. I see myself lifting weights of over 200 kg. It That’s what drives me.”
Chanu, one of India's most awarded lifters, is in the midst of a testing phase. She was injured at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where she fell in the weights and finished fourth, and she was later diagnosed with hip tendonitis, which kept her away from weights for four months. Earlier this year, she flew to St. Louis, USA, to begin rehabilitation with strength and conditioning specialist Aaron Horsig.
The 49kg lifter reached 70% of her usual level, but a four-month layoff put a nail in her back.
“Our sport is one where if you don't lift a barbell for a month, your body goes back for three months. I didn't lift a barbell for four months, and you can imagine how that affected my fitness. Try it,” she says. It's even harder to imagine what effect it had on her psyche. She stumbles on the stage she so coveted, returns home from the Asian Games in tatters, and is wheeled into a car and boarded a plane with her butt swollen before the Paris Olympics less than a year away. It might just be a trick on his mind. Chan-woo asked himself many times, “Why me?''
“It was frustrating, but I had no intention of giving up. As athletes, we learn to live with injuries, but this injury couldn't have come at a worse time.
“An Asian Games medal is the only honor missing from my cabinet. It's something I've wanted ever since I started this sport. Even the Olympics are coming later, because the Asian Games It could be tougher than the Olympics.”
In Hangzhou, North Korea's Ri Sung-geum broke world records in the clean and jerk (124kg) and overall lift (216kg), while China's Jiang Hui-hua broke the competition record in the snatch with an effort of 94kg. Chanu only had two legitimate lifts, one each in the snatch (83kg) and clean and jerk (108kg), and finished fourth with a below-average 191kg.
“I felt pain during warm-ups. I felt discomfort in my hip joint while sitting, and the pain increased as the competition progressed. I started feeling pain in my joint during clean lifts and jerk lifts. One lift was all it took for the dream to end.
“I looked at Dr. Vijay and asked, 'What happened?' “It was very difficult. They put me in a wheelchair. The flight home was long. Winning the Asian Games I thought that maybe it wasn't my destiny. However, as my rehabilitation progressed, I started to feel better. I will do my best until the end.” If my body cooperates, I will be at the next Asiad. ”
First of all, we are preparing for the Paris Olympics. Her silver medal in the 49kg category at the 2021 Tokyo Games helped India win a record seven medals.
Injuries are a constant for Mirabai.
She injured her lower back after the 2018 CWG and was sidelined for nine months, missing the Asian Games and World Championships. She calls it the worst injury of her career. In 2022, she injured her rotator cuff, shoulder, and wrist during training. She also complained of back pain during this period. Despite her wrist being at risk, she won a silver medal at the World Championships at the end of 2022.
In Hangzhou, my right hip gave up. That means her last official competition was the 2023 Asian Championships in Jinju, South Korea, where she finished sixth.
Even though he had a four-month break after the Asian Games, he continued to train his upper body. She called her mother for moral support and she consulted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, after which she went to the gym. She said, “I spent a lot of time in the gym. My upper body got really strong. The biggest risk during rehab is gaining weight, but I made sure to train and stay disciplined.”
Still, muscle mass, endurance, and strength declined. “We saw a significant decrease in strength. She hadn't touched a barbell in four months, and when she resumed lifting, we had to approach her as a complete newbie. At first, it was difficult to even lift 40 kg,” says Sharma.
“We first had to find out what movements and exercises were painful to perform, even with light weights, and remove them from her training,” Holsig said. Masu.
Standard one-leg squats and weighted squats were out of the question, so Horsich introduced Chanu to the “clam lock.” Lying on his side and with his right pelvis rotated at a 45 degree angle, I had Chanu place his right foot on top of his left Achilles tendon. Chanu was then instructed to lift his right knee without moving his pelvis.
“It was hard at first, but gradually her butt muscles started to feel relaxed. I think she is ready to show the world how strong she is,” added Horsich.
Chan-woo wants to do his best for Paris. “There are not many Indians who have won consecutive Olympic medals. I would love to be one of them,” she says.
Next up is the Phuket World Cup, which starts on March 31st, with a mandatory Paris qualifying round.
“In Phuket, I was able to get into the competition zone for the first time in a long time, so I will definitely lift.One of my goals in Paris will be to get under 90kg.I have achieved this several times in practice, so I am training my mind and body. I want to go.’ You know how it’s done. ”
India's weightlifting sport had high hopes after winning 10 medals at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games two years ago, but Chanu remains its only hope of making it to the Olympics.
“No one else has a chance to go to Paris. We had some promising lifters but they couldn't maintain their performance. There's no breakthrough talent on the horizon,” Sharma says.
