Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu returns home to warm reception

New Delhi, July 26 (PTI): Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu returned to the country on Monday after her superb silver medal-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics and was greeted enthusiastically at the airport.

Chanu walked out of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, flanked by security and clad in a face shield and mask.

“Happy to be back here in amidst so much love and support. Thank You so much,” she tweeted after landing.

The 26-year-old was greeted with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and felicitated by officials of the Sports Authority of India among others.

The diminutive Manipuri lifted a total of 202kg (87kg+115kg) in the 49kg category to better Karnam Malleswari’s bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics on Saturday.

With that performance, she exorcised the ghosts of the 2016 Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate lift, leaving her shattered.

Chanu has also been a former world champion and a Commonwealth Games gold-medallist.

She was training in the USA before the Games and lived up to the medal expectations from her with a confident performance.