I am sure Mirabai Chanu will win a medal in Tokyo, proclaims Karnam Malleswari

Former world champion Mirabai Chanu is one of India’s leading hopes to secure a medal in the next year’s sporting extravaganza and former women’s weightlifter Karnam Malleswari has no doubt that she will be able to achieve the feat. Chanu had also qualified for the 48 kg category three years ago in Rio but had failed to lift any weights in her three attempts in the clean and jerk section, which had her disqualified. However, the 25-year-old lifted a personal best recently in Thailand in both the snatch as well as in the clean and jerk category.

"She is a phenomenal athlete. I had high hopes from her in Rio too. I am sure she will win a medal in Tokyo. The best part about any athlete is when he or she learns from their mistakes. For Mirabai, Rio was a debacle, but since then she has not looked back. She has improved significantly. She has silenced her critics with her performance and even crossed the 200 kg mark on Thursday," Malleswari was quoted saying by TOI.

Last year, the International Weightlifting Federation had denounced the previously practiced weight category and introduced a new set of divisions, which in turn would now be applicable for the Olympics. This meant that Chanu had to adapt to her new category of 49kg but Malleswari believes she has enough time to prepare herself for the mega event.

"Look, it is not easy for an athlete to shift to a different weight category. She was earlier competing in the 48kg and then International Weightlifting Federation rejigged the weight category last year and she had to move to 49kg. Olympics is still 10 months away and I have full confidence in her," she said.

A regular medal-winner in international events now for the country, Malleswari believed Chanu is on the right path and doesn’t need to alter much to retain her consistency.

“She is disciplined and stable and has a sound technique too. She does not have to change anything. She just has to continue her good work and the results will follow,” she stated.

The 44-year-old Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee was herself a pioneer in sports for the country, with her bronze in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 the first by an Indian women. However, almost two decades later, not much progress has been made in the sport as far as India is concerned.

"In any sports a good infrastructure and good coaches at the grassroots are the key if you want to produce more Karnam Malleswaris and Mirabai Chanus, but we have failed to do so. There are hardly three or four weightlifting centres in our country, which are run by the Sports Authority of India. In my opinion, to produce more weightlifters, we should take this game to the rural areas," she concluded on the matter.