Paris: Mirabai Chanu’s counting down days to the Paris Olympics were muddled with questions. In January this year, barely able to get back to her optimal level of strength training let alone lift weights nearly twice her body weight, Mirabai sat wondering if she’d be able to make it to Paris at all.

A little over six months on, Mirabai did land in Paris, but returned with another of those nearly there fourth place finish on a day of crushing blows for the Indian contingent. With a total lift of 199kg, the 29-year-old Indian backed up her Tokyo Games silver medal with a Paris fourth in the women’s 49kg. China’s Hou Zhihui, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, defended her title with 206kg, while Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei took silver with 205kg. Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao lifted 200kg to take the bronze.

Mirabai lifted 88kg in her final snatch attempt after missing it in her first attempt — it matched her national record in snatch — to place herself in joint medal contention, but the clean and jerk is where it all changed.

The end of the snatch section had a surprise leader in Romania’s Cambei with a brilliant final lift of 93kg. It pushed China’s Hou Zhihui, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, to a surprise second with a best lift of 89kg. Cambei returned to deliver another impressive 112kg in the clean and jerk to confirm her medal and pushing Mirabai to fourth. Mirabai successfully lifted 111kg in her second attempt, and failed to lift 114kg in her last to sign off with folded hands and a tinge of disappointment. Khambao lifted 112kg to secure the bronze.

Mirabai at Tokyo was a prolonged buzz, her first medal on the opening day of the Games setting the tone for the rest of the high of 2021.

Mirabai herself, however, has surfed through a lot of physical and mental waves since that high before making it to Paris. A year after the Olympics gig, Mirabai extended her legacy in Indian weightlifting by winning silver at the 2022 World Championships as well gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

There was no stopping Mirabai and her infectious, charming smile. Until her own body did. After finishing a lowly sixth at the Asian Championships last year, a cruel end to the Asian Games awaited her.

Feeling a tinge of pain in her thigh during her warm-up in Hangzhou, Mirabai ignored it and turned up to battle on. Except, she couldn’t. In her final clean and jerk attempt, Mirabai severely injured her hip in her final clean and jerk attempt, grimacing in pain and falling over to the other side immediately. The podium finish was gone, so was the rest of the season.

She would only return in March this year, after a lengthy rehab process that made her doubt whether she would be able to make it to Paris at all.

“It was difficult, there is always self-doubt about when the recovery will happen, how soon it will and stuff like that,” Mirabai had said earlier.

Returning to training only in January, lifting those heavy barbells was the farthest thought in her mind. The body first had to develop the strength again to do that. Her comeback at the IWF World Cup in March, an Olympic qualifying event, was hardly inspiring (she lifted a total of 184kg to be placed 12th) but the objective of turning up there was met: to seal the Paris ticket.

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