Mirabai Chanu : Now I can proudly apply for Arjuna award

The 23-year-old had lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194kg in the women’s 48kg category at the World Weightlifting Championship in Anaheim, USA. She became the first Indian woman after 2000 Olympic bronze medallist Karnam Malleshwari to win the gold.

Chanu, who failed to show perform at the Rio Olympics as she could not get an overall total in women’s 48kg after failing to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section, said that now she can apply for the prestigious Arjuna award. As after the unforgettable outing in 2016, the weightlifter promised herself that she would apply for the award only after winning a medal for India and she got that chance after winning gold in the World Weightlifting Championship.

"Now I can proudly apply for the Arjuna award. I don't see any reason for the ministry to decline me the honour. When I did not get the honour in 2015 after my Glasgow silver, I felt bad. But I chose to move on. Now, with the gold at the Worlds, I strongly believe that I stand a great chance to get it next year from the President (of India). After the Olympics, a medal at the Worlds carries the highest points. If I don't get it this time, I would definitely ask the ministry what else I need to do to prove myself. Everyone in my village is waiting to see me as 'Arjuna awardee Mirabai Chanu'," Chanu who won a silver medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 told TOI.

"My ultimate target is to win gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and I know that I am going to achieve that."