Maj Gen Alok Naresh greets Mirabai Chanu
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, July 24 2021:
IGAR (South) major general Alok Naresh congratulated weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu for winning the first silver medal in weightlifting at Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the 49 kg category.
In a release, PRO IGAR (S) informed that the general officer commended Mirabai for creating history not only for Manipur but also for the country.
"When one of India's greatest moments in weightlifting was being hoisted into reality by legendary Karnam Malleshwari at Sydney Olympics 2000, the state of Manipur was laying the ground for their own moment in the sun, albeit 21 years later.
Barring the Beijing Olympics, the state sent four women weightlifters over five Olympics.
A generational effort that culminated in Saikhom Mirabai Chanu's monstrous 202 kg combined lift for the Tokyo Olympics silver medal in the 49 kg weightlifting category," the PRO quoted Alok Naresh as saying.
Two decades of consistently churning out weightlifters that are among the best in the world is Manipur's reminder that the Olympics are not a once-in-four year event, but a way of life, the release said.