Above all else, this medal for Mirabai has come due to her single-minded devotion to her sport. Instead of moping at home, she virtually headed straight to the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports, Patiala, after recording a disappointing no-lift in Clean & Jerk on Olympic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In the five years since, she has probably been home for five weeks in all.
In fact, she giggled a positive affirmation when asked if she was conversing more in Hindi than in Manipuri. “There are times when I speak with my mother that I remind myself to speak my mother tongue, but yes, since I am in Patiala most of the time, I speak more Hindi now than before,” she said, drawing attention to how NIS, Patiala, has been her home for years now.
Adopting a no-pain-no-gain approach to her quest for Olympic honours, she buckled down to a careful routine with child-like enthusiasm and, at once, a maturity beyond her age. She found the right balance and accepted everything that…