Tokyo Olympics: I cried when Mirabai won silver medal, says coach L. Anita Chanu

The international weightlifter-turned-coach promised that she would keep trying to produce Olympic medalists for the country.

Mirabai's childhood coach Anita Chanu (red track pants) celebrates with weightlifting enthusiasts at the Khuman Lampak training center in Imphal on Saturday.

International weightlifter-turned-coach L. Anita Chanu was in tears when she saw her student Saikhom Mirabai Chanu win a silver at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.

“I am very happy that Mirabai, a student of Khaman Lampak centre, won an Olympic medal. We prayed for her success and I cried when she got the silver. We always dreamt of producing an Olympic medallist,” Anita, Mirabai’s childhood coach, told Sportstar  from Imphal.

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 “I hope this will inspire parents and kids to take up the sport in a big way so that we have a bigger pool of talent to choose from.”

Anita, a Dhyan Chand award winner, said she would celebrate Mirabai’s win with her students. “There are 10-15 students who stay in the centre and train. I will celebrate with them. Also, I will keep trying to produce Olympic medallists for the country."