Mirabai Chanu has made India proud at Olympics 2020

Global IndianstoryMirabai Chanu: The accidental weightlifter who tackled major setbacks to clinch Olympics glory

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Mirabai Chanu: The accidental weightlifter who tackled major setbacks to clinch Olympics glory

Written by: Global Indian

(July 23, 9:05 am)

Chanu Saikhom Mirabai‘s historic win at Tokyo Olympics 2020 is nothing short of a Bollywood film script. A girl from a small village in Manipur who picked firewood from the jungle as a teenager becomes the first Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic silver medal. But like every potboiler, this story isn’t without its share of twists and turns. It has the determination of an athlete, the struggles of a teenager, the support of family, the guidance of a coach, the thrill of competition, bouts of depression, the disappointment of failure, and the glory of a historic victory.

Chanu was just another medal contender at Olympics before the sporting spectacle kickstarted. But the 26-year-old weightlifter became a household name after clinching a silver by lifting a total of 202kg to give India its very first medal at Tokyo 2020.

Chanu’s victory on the very first day of the Olympics has energized India’s contingent.

But like many sportspersons, Chanu had her share of struggles before reaching the zenith of glory.

When supplies were limited

Born in an impoverished family in Manipur’s Nongpok Kakching, Chanu was the youngest among six siblings. With a meager monthly income of ₹4,000 to make ends meet, life wasn’t easy for the Saikhoms. As a 5-year-old, Chanu often carried buckets full of water on her head carefully balancing her way on the steep inclines while her brothers made their way to the nearby jungle to pick firewoods.

It was great to meet and congratulate the pride of India and honour of Indian Rly, @mirabai_chanu. Also felicitated her & announced Rs. 2 Cr , a promotion and more. She has inspired billions around the world with her talent, handwork and grit.
Keep winning for India! pic.twitter.com/gYRftarOrr

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) July 26, 2021

During one such trip, Chanu accompanied her older brother into the hills. It was a typical day for the siblings but something was about to change for Chanu. The 12-year-old Chanu lifted a heavy stack of firewoods that her brother, who was four years elder to her, failed to do. This incident spread like wildfire in their village, and her strength to lift heavy woods became the talk of the town.

How Kunjarini Devi inspired Mirabai Chanu

This pushed her towards her dream of becoming a sportsperson. However, it was archery that Chanu had her eyes on. In the pursuit of fulfilling her dreams, she found herself at the gates of the Sports Authority of India center at Khuman Lampak Stadium in Imphal in 2008. But fate had other plans: She was unable to find any archery training session that day and instead chanced upon a few clips of popular Manipuri weightlifter Kunjarani Devi at the sports hall. Inspired by the seven-time silver medallist, Chanu found her calling in weightlifting.

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A post shared by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu)

In a few days, she found herself under the tutelage of coach Anita Chanu. With no weightlifting infrastructure in her village, she traveled about 18 kilometers every day from home to the stadium, changing two buses or at times, taking a lift from a truck that passed through their village. A young Chanu toiled hard to maintain a balance between her studies and the love for weightlifting.

In a conversation with Indian Express, her mom Tombi Devi, opened up about Chanu’s struggles.

“Sometimes, she would travel on sand trucks or cycle to Imphal. There were days when she would have fare for only half the distance and would walk back home. Sometimes, her elder sisters would save money from their weaving and give her money for fare or other training expenses. The only thing which she did not lack was will power.”

Under the wings of her coach, Chanu was unstoppable as she became the junior national champion in Chattisgarh in 2009, before making her debut in the national camp in 2011. She was determined to make India proud, someday, and she did exactly that in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. On the opening day of the competition, Chanu announced her arrival with a bang when she clinched a silver at the sporting spectacle.

The heartbreaking loss at Rio Olympics

With her stunning win at the Commonwealth Games, all eyes were on Chanu at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But the Padma Shri awardee failed to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean and jerk section. She froze. The heartbreaking defeat left the weightlifter depressed.

“My performance at the 2016 Rio Olympics was rather bad. I had failed in clean and jerk. I was really disappointed and depressed. My parents and my coach were there to motivate me throughout. But I realised that thinking too much about negatives, about what is not working, only increases the problem. I used to spend time with myself in the evenings, telling myself my future plans for which I needed to work harder. This method really helps me during any trouble, big or small,” she told HT Brunch.

But Chanu was determined to get back and march onward. After her Rio debacle, she silenced her detractors by winning gold in the 2017 World Championship. She did not stop there. The very next year, she became the first Indian athlete to bag gold at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

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A post shared by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chan

For the next two years, she was on a spree of breaking her own records. After lifting 210kg at the 2019 World Weighlifting Championship, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratan Award winner took it a notch higher with a gold medal at National Weightlifting Championship in Kolkata in 2020.

Though the athlete was on a blitzkrieg, her back issue played a spoiler more than once. And that’s when coach Vijay Sharma took her to the US to train and recover under Dr. Aaron Horschig, an eminent physiotherapist. A few corrective exercises along with some tweaks helped Chanu secure bronze in the Asian Championships at Taskent in April 2021.

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A post shared by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu)

The historic win at Tokyo Olympics

Filled with enthusiasm, Chanu was ready to take on her biggest competitor Zhihui Hou from China at Tokyo Olympics. And sure she did. A day after boxer Mary Kom and Indian hockey team captain Manpreet Singh led the Indian contingent at the opening ceremony, Chanu showed her mettle at the biggest sporting spectacle.

Ending the 21-year-long wait in a few minutes, Chanu pocketed a silver in weightlifting in the 49kg category, thus becoming the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal at the Olympics and the first-ever Indian to win an Olympic medal on Day 1 of the Summer Games.

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A post shared by Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu)

The historic win not only opened India’s tally ay Olympics but also turned out to be a beacon of hope.

“I came here after years of hard work and when I stood on the podium, I forgot about the fatigue for some time as it’s like a dream come true,” she told WION after her historic win.

But it was her craving for pizza that melted many hearts. Being put on a strict diet for the competition, it was a pizza that Chanu dearly missed during her preparation. Encashing on the brand bandwagon, Dominos has offered lifetime free pizza to Chanu.

@Mirabai_chanu Congratulations on bringing the medal home! 🙌🏽🥈You brought the dreams of a billion+ Indians to life and we couldn’t be happier to treat you to FREE Domino’s pizza for life 🍕😊
Congratulations again!! #DominosPizza #PizzasForLife #Tokyo2020 #MirabaiChanu https://t.co/Gf5TLlYdBi

— dominos_india (@dominos_india) July 24, 2021

She always maintained a strict diet regime. In a conversation with NDTV, Chanu said:

“I didn’t eat anything for two days before the competition because I was concerned about my weight.”

Two days after her epic win, the buzz has it that Chanu might be next in line to get her medal upgraded after gold medalist Zhihi Hou has been asked to take anti-doping tests. If Zhizhi Hou fails the test, Chanu will become the first Indian woman ever to win gold in weight lifting at Olympics.

Editor’s Take

History isn’t created every day. There are only a handful of people who bring pride to their nation, and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is one of them. The Padma Shri awardee has many laurels to her credit, but it’s her epic win at the Tokyo Olympics that has made her a household name. With her grit and perseverance, the 26-year-old has put India on the world map. Her journey is a testament to the power of determination, perseverance, and relentless discipline. One hopes that her success inspires more Indians, especially from the Northeast, to take up weightlifting.

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Published on 27, Jul 2021

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From winning championship at 9 to becoming a chess grandmaster at 17: SL Narayanan’s incredible journey

(November 8, 2021) SL Narayanan was all of nine when the board game with 64 black and white squares grabbed his attention. It was at this young age that he learnt that the knight in chess moves multiple squares each time while the pawn moves forward one square. Such was his passion for the game that he aced it and won his first championship that same year. This taste of victory gave Narayanan enough drive to pursue the game professionally and eight years later, he became India's 40th chess Grandmaster at the age of 17. Cut to 2021, Narayanan is still making India proud at the international level when he recently finished second at the ChessMood Open in Armenia. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for this 23-year-old who got enough time to improve his game. "I was very happy with my performance at the ChessMood Open. I played some quality games and was very happy to see the result of my work during this pandemic. It was my first visit to Armenia and I am glad I could keep a positive memory about the tournament. And this indeed motivates me to work even harder," he told Global Indian

e told Global Indian in an interview.

While the chess grandmaster is upping his game with every tournament but he had to overcome many challenges to reach the top.

A chance encounter with chess

Born in 1998 in Kerala, Narayanan was just nine when he first accompanied his mother to a chess tournament at her office and watched with rapt attention as she played the game. Sensing his curiosity, one of his mom's colleagues introduced him to the rules of the game. Intrigued by the world of chess, he returned to the tournament the next year with his mother and tried his hand. He managed to impress his opponent with his moves; he noticed the kid's potential and insisted his mother give Narayanan proper training. "Consequently, under the guidance of P Sreekumar, who was the former Kerala State Champion, I started my first lessons of the game. I learned the game in a systematic way and also started participating in district weekly events," he says.

[caption id="attachment_15245" align="aligncenter" width="486"] A young SL Narayanan up against top GM Parimarjan Negi.[/caption]

While Narayanan was mastering chess with each game, he would often ask his parents about his future in the game. The question of who would he become if he continued playing well often crossed his mind. "They [my parents] had one clear name to look up to - Vishwanathan Anand. Once I got to know about him through his games and news reports, I knew I had a role model," he adds. Soon, he fell in love with chess as it was the game's individuality that attracted him. "The rules are the same for everyone but you play according to your understanding/strategy and that's what made it colourful for me," says the grandmaster.

Nudging support from family

The 23-year-old is now among the top 10 chess players in India, and his career is testament to his family's support and commitment to the game. "My father was a government contractor but he quit his job when I started playing so that he could travel with me for tournaments," he reveals. His mother, who introduced him to the game, was among his biggest supporters as she was the sole breadwinner in the family for the longest time. The Grandmaster from Kerala also found support in his sister who gave up her dream of being a chess player in order to let him succeed. "My sister was also a very good chess player. She has participated in several national events and was the Delhi University zonal champion in 2017. We both trained under the same coach together for a while. However, my parents could only back one of us as our financial background wasn't great; one of us had to step back to pave the way for the other. Since I was a bit more talented and hard working, she decided to take a step back," adds Narayanan.

[caption id="attachment_15250" align="aligncenter" width="1800"] Grandmaster SL Narayanan[/caption]

The chess player's endeavours were not only supported by his family but even his school backed him. Narayanan studied at St Thomas Residential school till 8th standard and then moved to St Mary's Higher Secondary School to focus more on his game. Despite his hectic schedule, the 23-year-old was able to strike a balance between his studies and chess, all thanks to the support of his teachers.

Checkmate by challenges

Narayanan was quite young when he started learning from former Kerala State Champion, P Sreekumar and later trained under IM Varghese Koshy and GM Praveen Thipsay. But it hasn't been an easy journey from him as financial aid has always been a constraint. "Initially, I didn't get any proper training, opportunities or support to better my game despite being a strong and hardworking player. My parents took loans from several institutions to give me good training and help me participate in tournaments. If I had gotten proper training when I was young, like the players of similar age now get, it would have helped me create a strong foundation which I could build on," says the English Literature graduate from Mar Ivanios College.

[caption id="attachment_15246" align="aligncenter" width="1038"] SL Narayanan at World Junior Chess Championship 2016[/caption]

In 2016, the year Narayanan won gold in the Asian junior blitz chess championship, crowdfunding came to his rescue. "I was contacted by the social platform - Milaap after they came to know about me through one of the dailies. Later, they started crowdfunding and raised around ₹1.15 lakh which was indeed helpful for me. I believe crowdfunding is a reliable way to raise funds especially in a third world country like India," adds Narayanan.

He didn't find much support from the government either apart from the time when he became a grandmaster. "Since then I have not received any support from either the State or Central Government. Even when I went to one of the administrators, he ridiculed me and asked if chess was even a game; that was so disheartening," he reveals.

A journey worth remembering

Despite many challenges and setbacks, Narayanan has been able to pull himself through all of it for the sheer love of the game. From winning his first championship in 2007 to becoming a grandmaster, he has come a long way. "There have been a lot of thrilling moments in the journey with some tournaments working for me and others working completely against me. But I still enjoy the process of working on a game and the concept that builds the game."

[caption id="attachment_15247" align="aligncenter" width="601"] SL Narayanan[/caption]

For this Global Indian, chess is more than a game as he says it has helped him in shaping his character. The grandmaster is confident in the future of the sport and its players. "I could easily say that chess could help the young generation to instill in them life qualities as well as problem solving capabilities which will benefit them immensely," he signs off.

Follow SL Narayanan on Twitter

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Milkha Singh: The man who ran to survive and succeed

On Friday, India’s Flying Sikh breathed his last after a prolonged battle with COVID-19. The 91-year-old Milkha Singh, who’d maintained an active lifestyle right till the end, was diagnosed with Covid in May and was under home quarantine. A week later though, things took a turn for the worse and he was admitted to Mohali’s Fortis Hospital. Though he managed to beat Covid, its complications took a toll on the sports icon and he died five days after his wife of 58 years Nirmal breathed her last. [caption id="attachment_3633" align="aligncenter" width="547"] Milkha Singh and his wife Nirmal[/caption] In a tribute he posted on Instagram, Milkha Singh’s son and ace golfer, Jeev Milkha Singh, said, "You have touched so many lives over the years and the impact you have made on this nation will long be remembered. Being around you has taught me how to be a better father, brother, husband and has made me into a more compassionate and empathetic human being.” Singh had won four Asian gold medals and finished fourth in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In fact, running was an integral part of the sports star’s life. In an interview with the BBC he had once said that he would run for as long as six hours a day. “I would push myself so much that

In a tribute he posted on Instagram, Milkha Singh’s son and ace golfer, Jeev Milkha Singh, said, "You have touched so many lives over the years and the impact you have made on this nation will long be remembered. Being around you has taught me how to be a better father, brother, husband and has made me into a more compassionate and empathetic human being.”

Singh had won four Asian gold medals and finished fourth in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics. In fact, running was an integral part of the sports star’s life. In an interview with the BBC he had once said that he would run for as long as six hours a day. “I would push myself so much that in the end I would collapse and I would have to be admitted to the hospital, I would pray to God to save me, promise that I would be more careful in future. And then I would do it all over again,” he said.

Race for his life

Incidentally, Milkha’s tryst with running began during India’s partition when he had to flee to save his life. Born in Pakistan’s Layalpur, he had watched his parents and siblings being slaughtered; as his father breathed his last, he said, “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag,” urging him to run to save his life. And run he did, till he got onto a train bound for Delhi. Here he roamed disenchanted and resorted to petty crime before working in a small roadside eatery. At one point of time, he was sent to Tihar Jail for traveling ticketless in a train. His sister, Ishar, had to pawn her jewelry to secure his bail.

The tide turned in 1951 when he got recruited into the Indian Army in his fourth attempt. He ran a cross- country race of five miles (his first race) when army coach Gurdev Singh promised an extra glass of milk to those who finished in the top 10. Singh finished sixth and was selected for special training in the 400m category. There was no turning back since then and he went on to become India’s first sporting superstar.

Watch the race from 1960 here

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kanvHKmMwSM[/embed]

Singh won Gold at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff, becoming the first Indian athlete to do so. His win was a watershed moment in Indian sporting history, which led then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to declare a national holiday. In 1960, he finished fourth in the 400m Rome Olympics, missing the podium by a narrow 0.01 seconds. In an interview with India Today a couple of years ago he said,

“It has been 60 years, and the miss at Rome still hurts me. I was so close."

The Flying Sikh’s record in track and field stayed intact for 52 years till Krishna Poonia won the women’s discus throw in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

[caption id="attachment_3635" align="aligncenter" width="428"] Milkha Singh with Jawaharlal Nehru[/caption]

In 1960, Singh was invited to participate in the 200m race at the International Athletic competition in Lahore, Pakistan. The athlete was reluctant to go; he hadn’t been back in Pakistan since the partition. He did go eventually, and went on to win the race, while Pakistan’s Abdul Khaliq took the bronze. It was then that General Ayub Khan, Pakistan’s second president, bestowed upon him the title of “The Flying Sikh”, a moniker that stuck with him till the end.

He once took his sister to watch a race at the National Stadium; when the starter’s gun was fired, it startled her and she thought her brother had been shot. It was only after he finished the race and rushed to console her that she drew a breath of relief.

The essence of his life

Singh retired from athletics after the 1964 Olympics, two years after winning the gold at the Asian Games held at Jakarta. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1959. Singh, who had been offered the Arjuna award (which had been instituted in 1961) in 2001, had famously turned it down, stating, “the honour was not of the stature of the services he rendered the nation.”

Singh believed in staying disciplined and fit. In fact, he would go for a jog even at the age of 91, qualities attributed to his time in the army where he was promoted from sepoy to junior commissioned offer after the 1958 Asian Games. He eventually rose to the rank of Honorary Captain. After hanging his boots, he went on to become the Director of Sports in Punjab Ministry of Education, a post he retired from in 1998.

All of Singh’s medals, along with the pair of shoes he’d worn in Rome, were donated to India and displayed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi before being moved to a sports museum in Patiala.

Singh and his daughter Sonia Sanwalka wrote his autobiography The Race of My Life, published in 2013. Singh, reportedly sold the rights to the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for only one rupee and inserted a clause stating that a share of the profits be given to the Milkha Singh Charitable Trust. The trust helps youngsters achieve their potential through education.

A scene from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

The 2013 film starred Farhan Akhtar. Singh told BBC that he wanted it to inspire the next generation.

“We had nothing in our times. The athletes and sportsmen in those days didn’t earn much money. We worked for the applause, people’s appreciation inspired and motivated us, we ran for the country,” he said.

What the Twiterrati say

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Reading Time: 10 mins

The thrill of jumps, an adrenaline rush, and a sport unlike others: BMX racing in Hyderabad is beginning to come of age

(September 12, 2021) After Steven Spielberg's parents divorced, he became friends with an imaginary character and used to engage in a conversation with this friend. Little did he know that this imaginary friend would one day inspire him to make a movie and that's how E.T The Extra-Terrestrial, the sci-fi movie was made and went on to become one of the highest grossing movies of all times. The plot revolves around a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial stranded on earth. The scene that would remain etched in the minds of audiences is a chase scene towards the end of the movie where ET is put in a basket with a cover over it and three of the boys' friends trying to run away from the police on their bicycles. That sequence inspired kids and adults world over to ride the bicycle popularly called the BMX (Bicycle Motocross bikes). [caption id="attachment_10018" align="aligncenter" width="484"] BMX Racing is popular in Hyderabad ((Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption] What began in California as an imitation of motocross riders, but on bicycles, soon made its way to the Netherlands when Gerrit Does, a Dutch motocross trainer, introduced BMX in Holland after his visit to the US in

aas Mansuri)[/caption]

What began in California as an imitation of motocross riders, but on bicycles, soon made its way to the Netherlands when Gerrit Does, a Dutch motocross trainer, introduced BMX in Holland after his visit to the US in 1974. Three decades later, in 2008, BMX racing became an Olympic sport. In 2016, BMX freestyle gained a level of legitimacy when it came under the umbrella of the worldwide governing body for all cycling, the Union Cycliste International (UCI) France.

[caption id="attachment_9952" align="aligncenter" width="553"] BMX Racing Red Bull Pump Track Championship 2019 (Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption]

(Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)

Circa 1980s, one could see few folks BMXing on the stairs of Mount Mary Church at Bandra, Mumbai. That was also the time when International BMX Federation was formed in 1981. Credit for starting the scene goes to Rahul Mulani who began BMXing, organized BMX jams and went on to set-up India's first BMX store. Not many may know that BMX is one of the oldest cycle sports in India but followed and practiced by very few. Expensive bikes, no proper safety gears or tracks to practice at, the BMXing has been on a slow growth among the cricket-hoot Indian masses.

However, the sport slowly made its way from an unknown urban activity to become an everyday recreational sport in cities like Pune, North Eastern India, Chandigarh and Hyderabad. Though still nascent, the BMX scene in India has its bright spots.

[caption id="attachment_10011" align="aligncenter" width="539"] BMX Racing BMX racer at Red Bull Championship 2019 (Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption]

Avid BMX rider, Hamza Khan brought the sport to Hyderabad when he established India's first ever and only asphalt pump track, The WallRide Park, heralding the birth of the sport in the city. Hamza roped in global pioneers and pump track specialists Velosolutions Switzerland to build the track on his family-owned land in Peeran Cheruvu on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The track has a series of twists, turns and jumps and in the past few years has become a hangout for those seeking an adrenaline rush while also providing a great practice and training ground for a number of talented riders.

[caption id="attachment_9953" align="aligncenter" width="505"] BMX Racing BMX racer oiling his bike (Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption]

Within two years of its opening, the track gained recognition from Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and became a stop for the Red Bull Pump Track Championship in 2019 hosting the Indian qualifier featuring riders from the country and overseas for a ticket to the finals that would be held in Switzerland. WallRide has become a place of escape for more than just the thrill-seekers. Hamza says, "The place has become more diverse with not just kids and youngsters but even adults coming to have a great time. It's fantastic to see participation in BMX continuing to grow."

However, just as things had begun to look up for the sport, COVID-19 struck and virtually every aspect of the pump track operations were completely shut down. For a niche sport such as this, bouncing back is time consuming with drain of financial resources; more so since it is self-funded with no external help either from any sporting association or the Government. However, once the unlock began, things began to improve: being an individual sport, all it needed were a few operational adjustments for the path to be cleared for training and also to safely host events. Hamza is optimistic of seeing more participation in this sport and has curated a championship exclusive to India called RevJam (Revolutionary Jam).

[caption id="attachment_9954" align="aligncenter" width="603"] BMX racer on pump track (Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption]

A few among the riders who train at his track are aspiring to aim for the pinnacle of all sporting events - the Olympics. Hamza adds, "Our plans are aimed at producing riders of international repute in the future and also encouraging a sustainable growth of BMX.”

Although the future of BMX in India isn't certain like many other sports in the roster, but the fact remains that from its humble beginnings it has come quite far in the past 30-40 years. And until it gains prominence there’s no sitting on the bench in this individualized sport.

[caption id="attachment_10013" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Rahul Mulani BMX racing in Hyderabad (Image Courtesy: Vaqaas Mansuri)[/caption]

Dhroov Rajpal, is one of the country's best BMXers who also builds skate parks. He feels the number of BMXers in the country is growing and they have a huge following on social media. He has built 8 skate parks in India and has a few more to come which can facilitate more newcomers to take up the sport. Dhroov himself is the BMX winner at the India Extreme Nationals conducted by Xtreme Sports Association of India – a body with official recognition formed for the purpose of developing and promoting extreme sports in India and affiliated to Asian Extreme Federation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw0XPwvuFKg

India’s BMX veteran and owner of the first BMX store, Rahul Mulani, hopes this sport gets a huge fillip as he doesn't see much happening at a desired pace in the sport. On the future of this sport he says, “As a country, we are not open to accepting some sports because of our upbringing or preference for racket/stick sports. We like to play safe. Further the sport has not caught on because of lack of infrastructure and acceptance of this genre. Anyone wishing to pursue BMX racing will have to do it pretty much on their own with no support from any sporting association. I see this sport taking some concrete shape decades from now."

Reading Time: 7 mins

Rani Rampal: From battling poverty to leading the Indian women’s hockey team to script history

(August 3, 2021; 5.45 pm) In April this year, when the Indian women’s hockey team was training hard for their Olympics outing, disaster struck: six of the team members had tested positive for COVID-19 and were forced to go into isolation for two weeks. One of the six was the team captain Rani Rampal. The 26-year-old had just recovered from a bout of Typhoid and found the isolation exhausting – physically and mentally. However, the gritty captain, who has played over 200 matches was determined to lead her girls to Olympics glory. The team rallied and stayed committed to their goal: making it to the Quarter Finals of the Tokyo Olympics. They were determined to overcome the Rio debacle where they had finished last. On August 2 though, the team did more than that. They beat the Australian team, which until then had been touted to be a top medal contender, and sailed into the semi-finals – a huge first for the Indian women’s hockey team. The team hadn’t made the Olympics cut for 36 years until Rio. [embed]https://twitter.com/SjoerdMarijne/status/1422070304252129284?s=20[/embed] For Rampal though, this is one of the many firsts that she has to her credit. Back in 2010, she became the youngest

er, and sailed into the semi-finals – a huge first for the Indian women’s hockey team. The team hadn’t made the Olympics cut for 36 years until Rio.

[embed]https://twitter.com/SjoerdMarijne/status/1422070304252129284?s=20[/embed]

For Rampal though, this is one of the many firsts that she has to her credit. Back in 2010, she became the youngest player in the national team at the age of 15. In 2009, she played in the Champion’s Challenge Tournament in Kazan, Russia, where she helped team India win by scoring 4 goals in the finals.

Working her way up

[embed]https://twitter.com/imranirampal/status/1418087236277469187?s=20[/embed]

Born in 1994 in Haryana’s Shahabad Markanda in a poor family, sports was far from Rampal’s mind. The family’s means were less than meagre: her father was a pushcart puller and mother a house maid. They could barely afford two square meals a day. But nothing could contain Rampal’s love for hockey which began when she spent hours watching the sport at a hockey academy near her house. Although she really wanted to play, her father couldn’t afford to buy her a hockey stick. Rampal tried to convince the coach at the academy to train her, but he turned her away saying she looked malnourished and he doubted she could last a practice session.

"So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practicing with that - I didn't have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance," Rampal told Humans of Bombay.

Hurdles gallore

[caption id="attachment_6603" align="aligncenter" width="650"] Rani Rampal and her girls battled COVID-19 and personal trouble to script history at the Tokyo Olympics when they sailed into the semi finals. Rani Rampal with her parents[/caption]

When she finally managed to convince the coach, she was faced with objection from her family. They believed a woman’s place was in the house doing chores. However, seeing her determination, they reluctantly agreed. Since the family didn’t even own a clock, Rampal’s mother would stay up till the crack of dawn to wake her up for her practice and then go to bed. At practice, each player was required to bring half a litre of milk; Rampal’s family couldn’t meet the requirement. So, she would dilute whatever milk they could manage with water and gulp it down so she could attend practice. Along the way, she also had help from people like her coach, who would buy her shoes and hockey kits. He also let her live with his family and took care of her diet so she had the right nutrition to pursue the sport.

Rampal’s determination and conviction paid off when she qualified for the national team. And there has been no looking back ever since. She was instrumental in winning the silver medal for team India at the 2009 Asia Cup. In 2010, she was nominated for the FIH Women’s Young Player of the Year Award – the only Indian so far. That same year, at the Women’s Hockey World Cup in Argentina, she scored a total of seven goals helping place India in the ninth position in World Women’s hockey rankings. In 2016, she was awarded the Arjuna award. She led team India in the 2018 Asian Games where they won a silver medal.

In 2020 she was conferred the country’s highest sporting honor the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (the first woman hockey player to receive the recognition) as well as the fourth highest civilian award the Padma Shri. At the time though, her family didn’t know the significance of these honors. “My parents are not that educated. So they are not aware of these awards. When I explained to my father that I’m the first woman hockey player to receive it, he got emotional,” she told The New Indian Express.

[caption id="attachment_6604" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Rani Rampal and her girls battled COVID-19 and personal trouble to script history at the Tokyo Olympics when they sailed into the semi finals. Rani Rampal and her team celebrate after their win against Australia at the Tokyo Olympics[/caption]

Funnily enough, when she’d first started off in the sport she didn’t know much about the Olympics. So when team India didn’t qualify for the Olympics in 2008 and she saw some of the senior players crying, she wondered why. As she grew with the sport, she began to understand a lot more and aspire for more too. In an interview with Scroll she said,

“If there's no pressure, you won't perform. Then you tend to take it easy. But when there's pressure, you realize the responsibilities you carry and you make sure you are always one step ahead."

Dreams fulfilled

When she won her first tournament, she earned ₹500 as a reward.

“I gave the money to papa. He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, ‘One day, we're going to have our own home'.”

She was finally able to fulfill that dream in 2017 when she bought her parents their dream home. “We cried together and held each other tightly! And I'm not done yet; this year, I'm determined to repay them and Coach with something they've always dreamed of- a gold medal from Tokyo," she said.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIEso8-Tbfo[/embed]

Editor’s Take

India’s women athletes are making the country proud at the Tokyo Olympics and Rani Rampal is one of them. From battling poverty to carving a niche for herself in the Indian hockey team to leading it to great heights is no easy feat. But this Padma Shri awardee is not short on grit and determination. The Indian women’s hockey team had not made the Olympic cut for 36 years until the Rio Olympics. While that outing proved to be dismal for the team, they are now determined to script history at the Tokyo Olympics under Rani Rampal’s captaincy.

Reading Time: 10 mins

How swimmer Sajan Prakash braved adversity and injuries to bag direct Olympic qualification

The Eternal City of Rome woke up to a bright and sunny morning on June 26, and so did Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash. With palpable excitement, the 27-year-old athlete moved swiftly towards the swimming pool that was waiting for him to create history. Taking his position at Sette Colli Trophy championship in Lane 3, he jumped at the sound of the whistle and in less than two minutes he breached the elusive 'A' cut that stands formidably at 1:56:48 minutes. At that very moment, a star was born. The swimmer from Kerala had created history. He didn't just clinch gold in the 200m butterfly but he also became the first Indian swimmer to earn a direct Olympic qualification. I congratulate @swim_sajan for becoming the 1st Indian swimmer to qualify for #Tokyo2020 as he clocks 1:56:38 in men’s 200m butterfly at the Sette Colli Trophy in Rome. It shows the commitment of our athletes towards making India proud. pic.twitter.com/27LMd3OVj4 — Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 26, 2021 With a neck injury and no practice for 8 months in 2020, Tokyo 2020 Olympics was a distant dream for this Indian athlete. But he turned every adversity into an opportunity. A month after his

tment of our athletes towards making India proud. pic.twitter.com/27LMd3OVj4

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) June 26, 2021

With a neck injury and no practice for 8 months in 2020, Tokyo 2020 Olympics was a distant dream for this Indian athlete. But he turned every adversity into an opportunity. A month after his historical win, Prakash is in Tokyo.

Prakash epitomizes the adage, 'Where there's a will, there's a way."

Difficult childhood

Born in Idukki district of Kerala, Prakash was raised in Tamil Nadu's Neyveli by his mother VJ Shantymol after his father abandoned the two, a year after his birth. A former athlete, his mother brought up Prakash at Neyveli Lignite township where she was employed on a sports quota.

With an indoor stadium in the township, Prakash started swimming at the age of 3. For the next seven years, his swimming was restricted to summer vacations, but as he turned 10, Prakash started taking the hobby seriously.

Under the mentorship of his coach Sabi Sebastian, Prakash started bringing medals home.

Mother's unrelenting support

Prakash's mother has been his biggest supporter and cheerleader on his journey. When a young Prakash moved to Bengaluru for better swimming facilities, his mother made an overnight 380 km journey every weekend from Neyveli in Tamil Nadu with torches in her bag to help bus drivers fix punctures on potholed roads.

In a conversation with Indian Express, she said,

"I had to punch in at the office at 8.30 am sharp the next morning, or I'd lose half a day’s salary. The state transport buses would routinely stop because the roadworks on that route was bad due to tyre punctures. I couldn’t afford for the bus to halt because I couldn’t reach late. I just started carrying three torches and many times got down from the bus myself to fix the puncture."

Most of her salary went into buying plane tickets for her son to participate in competitions. "Till 2015, he even used second-hand suits,” Shantymol says.

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An athlete herself who raced the 100m, 200m sprints at the 1987 World Championship and Asian Juniors, Shantymol understood how important Prakash's dream was for him.

"Being a sportsperson herself, she understood things better. How to progress in the sport, the hardship every sportsperson faces. If you fail every time, how you would get back. It was good that I had a mother who understood me completely and understood my goal. She pushed me every time I failed," Prakash told Hindustan Times.

A job that fuelled his passion

Such was his zeal for swimming that he took up a job as a railway clerk in Bengaluru to support his passion. His job entailed standing long hours at the yards and checking every bogey that decamped there. It was between two hours of morning and evening swimming practice that he sandwiched his day job.

It was his good performances at railway meets and national games that convinced his employers to let him off the hook, and concentrate on swimming. He joined the Kerala police in 2018.

The Global Indian journey

Known as India's Michael Phelps, Prakash shot to fame with the 2015 National Games where he pocketed six gold medals and three silver medals. A year later, the swimmer presented India at Rio Olympics where he got a chance to compete against his idol Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly event.

"Olympics is a stage for the top athletes in the world. It was a great feeling when I saw him. Because he has done so much for the sport. His achievements are really incredible. I felt really very happy. It was remarkable I got to compete with him in the same event."

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Prakash was on the world stage once again with the 2018 Asian Games. Despite the tragic floods in his hometown, he managed to qualify for the finals making him the first Indian swimmer to achieve the feat in 32 years in Asiad. By shattering his own national record and finishing fifth in the finals, Prakash humbly announced his arrival to the world.

This feat gave wings to his Olympics 2020 dream, but his happiness was short-lived as the 27-year-old injured his neck and shoulder at the SAF Games in Nepal in December 2019. With only 7 months left for the qualification round, Prakash was in despair.

But Prakash is not the one to back down in adversity. The 2020 lockdown turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the swimmer as he could recuperate and prepare for Olympics 2020. Despite staying away from the pool for 8 months, he left for Aqua Nation Sports Academy in Dubai for his training. With the competitions at Latvia and Belgrade, Prakash was getting his flair back. But it was in the Eternal City of Rome that Prakash created history. By clocking in 1:56:38 at the 200m butterfly event, Prakash became the first-ever Indian swimmer to earn a direct Olympic qualification by breaching the Olympic Qualifying Time. In less than two minutes, he booked his slot at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

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Editor's Take

There isn't a prouder moment for a sportsperson than to represent his country at the Olympics. And that's exactly what Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash is gearing up for. His story of grit, passion and unshakable determination has made him a world-class athlete, and the swimmer is now ready to take on the best in the world at Tokyo Olympics 2020. The Kerala-born swimmer has beaten all odds to reach where he is and is an inspiration for many.

Reading Time: 6 mins