'Rio 2016 to Tokyo 2020': How Mirabai Chanu was transformed into a champion

Rome wasn't built in a day and so wasn't Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu. It took her five years of rigorous hard work after the Rio 2016 debacle to stand at the podium with a silver medal around her neck at Tokyo 2020.

And chief coach of Indian weightlifting team, Vijay Sharma, played a pivotal role in her success as they went back to the drawing board and reworked on their strategy after the Rio 2016 heartbreak. He also admits that the failure in Rio taught them a lot.

The improved efforts started to reap benefits in no time as Chanu went on to clinch her first gold medal, across competitions, in the 48 kg category at 2017 World Championships. She also stood at top of the podium in the 2018 Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Gold Coast.

"We changed training (after Rio 2016) a lot and that is why in 2017 and 2018, we performed and continued to improve," Sharma told Olympics.com.

But Chanu, truly, wrote a story of comebacks at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020.

Sharma recalled that two days before her final event, he would show her videos of her success in the past few years, to boost her confidence so that she heads into the mat with a clear mindset.

"For two days before Tokyo 2020, I continued to show her old videos, which brought confidence in her that we have improved in every competition. And wanted her to approach Tokyo 2020 with the mindset that this competition is no different and we can perform well here also. So that is why she was very confident as she had performed the lifts in training already," Sharma explains.

"When Mirabai Chanu was going to the stage at Tokyo 2020, she knew that I had done this in training and it was nothing for me. Although there was a bit of pressure, our body language was very good," he adds.

It was also the two trips to the United States which helped Chanu to improve ahead of the showpiece event. An the second trip was made amid the pandemic and that certainly played a key role in her performance at Tokyo.

"The first visit (to the United States) helped us improve through physical training and the second stint helped us to undergo improvement training," Sharma explains.

"We went to the United States in October last year after the lockdown. Mirabai Chanu had a shoulder issue then and right side of the back was becoming stiff due to that. We were not able to pick the load at training like we wanted to. But after reaching there and with training under the guidance of Dr. Aaron Horschig, the problem was resolved. And due to that we were able to do well at the Asian Championships and set a clean and jerk World Record.

"In the second stint (before Tokyo 2020), we did not need a physiotherapist as much because there weren't as many issues to be addressed," he adds.

Sharma is a relieved man now as he believes that 'there cannot be a bigger achievement for a coach.' He looks back at the efforts put in the past four years with satisfaction but has already charted out plans to improve on their result at Tokyo 2020 in Paris 2024.

"From 2016, we made our training more difficult and worked hard. Everyday, we used to lift really heavy weights like a truck. We did extensive training," he says.

"If there is no injury to Mirabai in these years then I can assure you that we will take on the Olympic stage with a better mindset and definitely fight to win a gold medal."

And depending on the situation, Chanu might even consider changing her weight category.

"Definitely. We have to change our strategy a bit more if we want to clinch the gold medal and work a bit harder. We have planned and know our weak points and hope to do our best at the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games."

The Olympic silver medallist will return to train under him at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centre in Patiala on August 10 after her much-deserved celebrations with her family and friends back home in Manipur.