Only North-easterners can write such success stories. The region may be an underdeveloped one, people living in the region surely are not amongst the richest in the country and life is full of hardships but the northeast is second to none when it comes to earning laurels for the country at international events. The recent inclusion in the long list of sporting achievers from the Northeast is Mirabai Chanu. The girl from Manipur has created history by becoming the first Indian sportsperson to win a Silver medal in weightlifting at the Olympics. Previously, Kamala Maleswari won the Bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. For 21 years, Maleswari was the only Indian sportsperson to win a medal in weightlifting at the Olympics. Now, Chanu occupies the coveted place. Henceforth, July 24, 2021 should be treated as a red letter day in the sporting history of India for Chanu’s heroics.
But the path was not smooth for Chanu. She faced hurdles every step of the way to the medal-winning performance in the Olympics. She showed her inclination for weightlifting by picking up the heaviest bundles of fire woods, but received a severe jolt when she failed at the Rio Olympics in 2016. It was her first appearance on a big international stage. The pressure was too heavy for her to bear, but her critics were unsympathetic. Instead of standing beside her at a crucial time, critics started doubting her ability and sincerity. They even found flaws in her attitude. But Chanu came back stronger and won Gold medals at both the Commonweath and World Championships in 2017. The following year, she picked up another Gold at the Commonwealth Games. At this juncture she was injured and was kept out of sporting activities for ten months.
Dedication, determination and discipline are the reasons behind the success of Northeastern sportspersons. Thus, Chanu was not at all disheartened after being injured. It only strengthened her resolve to prove her worth on the Olympic stage. While analysing her performance thus far, Chanu realised that her two shoulders were not in sync while lifting weights and this biomechanical problem was affecting her performance. So she consulted renowned physiotherapist Aaron Horschig. Only after resolving the problem, Chanu proceeded to take part in the Tokyo Olympics and the rest is history.
It’s a pity that even after making the country proud Chanu and other Northeastern sportspersons will continue to face hurdles such as lack of sponsorship, modern training facilities and encouragement as the country is only obsessed with Cricket. An average cricketer will still be more popular than Chanu and other sportspersons from the Northeast who have the potential of making it big on the world stage, if given proper opportunities. So time has come now to make the Northeast a sporting hub of the country. This will certainly help India to make a mark in the international sporting arena as there is no dearth of talented sportspersons in the Northeast.