Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar met Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu at his residence in Mumbai on Wednesday. The 27-year-old weightlifter had won India’s first-ever medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. She clinched silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting category to open India’s account at the Tokyo Games.
Chanu was invited by Tendulkar to his home in Mumbai where the Master Blaster had some inspiring words to share with the weightlifter. Chanu became the second Indian after Karnam Malleswari to win an Olympic medal for India in weightlifting. Malleswari had won bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist took to Twitter to thank Tendulkar for his inspiring words after meeting him at his home. “Loved meeting @sachin_rt Sir this morning! His words of wisdom & motivation shall always stay with me. Really inspired,” she wrote in a tweet.
Sachin responded to her tweet by stating that it was inspiring for him to talk about her journey from Manipur to Tokyo. “Equally happy to meet you this morning, @mirabai_chanu! It was wonderful talking to you about your inspiring journey from Manipur to Tokyo. You’ve got places to go in the coming years, keep working hard,” Sachin tweeted.
After her heartbreaking exit from the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she had failed to log a single successful lift, Chanu lifted a total of 202kg at the Tokyo Olympics to finish at the second spot on the podium this year. She became only the second Indian woman after PV Sindhu to win a silver medal at the Olympics.
Chanu has since become a cynosure of all eyes back home and her victory has been celebrated by many. She was felicitated by the Sports Ministry on her return back home and was also awarded Rs 1 crore cash prize by the Manipur government for her stellar feat. After Chanu’s silver, India went on to win six more medals across different events to end the Tokyo Games with the country’s highest-ever medal tally in an Olympics.