Mirabai Chanu gave India its first medal at Tokyo 2020

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu gave India its first medal at Tokyo 2020 as she won the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category as China’s Zhihu Hou took gold. Chanu lifted 84kg and 87kg successfully but failed to lift 89kg as she was placed in second spot after snatch while China’s Zhihu lifted 94kg to create an Olympic record.

New Olympic record was registered by Mirabai Chanu with a successful lift of 115kg in clean and jerk. Mirabai Chanu was a medal contender in the women’s 49 kg, having set a new world record in clean & jerk by lifting 119kg in the Asian Weightlifting Championship at Tashkent in April 2021. Meanwhile, China wins first gold medal of Tokyo Olympics 2021 as Qian Yang topped women’s 10m air rifle event. Earlier, India shooters Apurvi Chandel and Elavenil Valarivan were knocked out in qualification in the same event. Deepika Kumari and Pravin Jadhav’s mixed team has stormed into the quarterfinals after winning the first match against Chinese Taipei but failed to overcome Korean challenge in the quarterfinals.