"I was also expecting her to finish on the podium" - Mirabai's  mother Tombi Leima happy with daughter's fourth-place effort

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, weightlifter Popy Hazarika battled menstrual cramps before finishing a disappointing seventh in the women's 59kg event. On Wednesday at the South Paris Arena, another Indian, standing a little less than five feet, solitarily carried a billion hopes, before a similar menstruation-related condition left her one kilogram shy of a podium finish. Mirabai Chanu, the Tokyo silver medallist’s campaign in Paris came to a heartbreaking end, and so did India’s from the weightlifting arena.

Mirabai, who turned 30 on Thursday, lifted 199 kgs (88 in snatch and 111 in clean and jerk) to find herself just outside the podium in the women’s 49kg weight division. Later after her event, the former world champion admitted that she was not in her best form because she was on the third day of her period.

On Thursday, Sportskeeda got in touch with Mirabai’s mother Saikhom Tombi Leima, who was eagerly hoping for her daughter to bring home another medal, but expressed her happiness as the weightlifter battled against all odds to finish fourth.

“Like the rest of the country, I was also expecting her to finish on the podium. But it wasn’t meant to be, it is sports, you win one day and lose the other day. We are happy that she gave a great fight, it was a tight contest,” she said.

Referring to the hip injury at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 that sidelined Mirabai for five months, Leima said although she had recovered by the time she arrived in Paris, the layoff certainly affected her regime.

“She had a back injury last year, which affected her training. But she insisted on playing without fear and participated with the hope that she will get a medal. It’s not easy to come back and get back to your best in such a short time. We are happy with her effort,” she said.

For the diminutive Manipuri, injuries have been a constant issue, and to avoid any such hiccups in the build-up to the Paris Games, Mirabai took part in only one competition – the World Cup – in 2024.

Leima also said that Mirabai was constantly worried about the violence in Manipur, which has been continuing for the past 15 months.

“She was also worried about the current situation in Manipur. Hope things come back to normal soon,” she said.

While Paris 2024 was Mirabai’s third appearance at the quadrennial showpiece event, the champion lifter vowed to come back stronger after Wednesday’s disappointing outing.