Tokyo 2020: When COVID-19 lockdown almost scuttled Mirabai Chanu's Olympic dream

Bengaluru, July 27: Success is sweet, but its secret is sweat and nobody knows it better than weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who helped India open its account at the Tokyo 2020 Games with a silver medal.

Training tirelessly, staying away from family and maintaining a strict diet for five years finally culminated in the moment Chanu had been desperately waiting for -- standing atop the Olympic podium but it almost did not happen.

The postponement of the Tokyo Games and a break in training due to the COVID-19 lockdown last year brought with it a shoulder issue for the weightlifter that could have led to a completely different result, something Chanu had been worried about.

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"When I started training after the lockdown, my back started getting tight and my right shoulder had some issue. It wasn't an injury but it would get tight while lifting heavy weight," Chanu told PTI news agency in an interview after returning home to a rousing reception for her 49kg category silver at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

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"It happened because I had stopped training during the lockdown and my body," she added.

Chanu had been confined to the National Institute of Sports in Patiala when a nationwide lockdown was announced last year to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Resuming training after months of staying inside her room, Chanu developed the shoulder issue. This severely affected her performance in snatch, one of the two events in weightlifting. To rectify it, she flew to the US to get treatment last year.

Working with Dr Aaron Horschig, a former weightlifter turned physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach, immensely benefited her as she won a bronze at the Asian Championship with a world record clean and jerk lift of 119kg in April.

"That''s why we planned to go to US. That helped me a lot and I was able to create a world record in Asian Championship."

She again flew to the US for a 50-day camp ahead of the Tokyo Games.

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At the Tokyo Games, the 26-year-old brought cheers to over a billion people as she clinched the silver medal with an effort of 204kg (87kg+115kg) in the women''s 49kg category.

"The US physiotherapist worked with me. I've a muscle imbalance. Whenever I lifted a heavy load I used to be in pain. She would make me do some exercises. That benefited me a lot."