Rousing welcome accorded to Mirabai; thousands line up Tiddim road to roll out red carpet

OSR/DIPR
Imphal, Jul 27 : Silver medallist at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu landed at Imphal to a rousing welcome today.
She was received by Chief Minister N Biren Singh, Sports Minister Letpao Haokip, Education Minister S Rajen, family members and a sea of well wishers at the Airport.
From there, Mirabai headed for City Convention Centre, where she was felicitated formally.
A sea of well wishers also lined up Tiddim road to literally roll out the red carpet for the Olympics champion as she made her way to the City Convention Centre.
An exhilarating emotional moment it was for the people who lined up as they threw caution to the wind to give the Olympic champion a rousing welcome.
Team Nisikant, The Sangai Express and people from different walks of life also lined up the road to give a rousing reception to Mirabai Chanu with flowers. The car in which she travelled along with the Chief Minister was bedecked with flowers showered by the people who lined up the road to welcome her.
The felicitation ceremony at City Convention Centre was organised by Youth Affairs and Sports Department  and was graced by Chief Minister N Biren Singh as chief guest, YAS Minister Letpao Haokip as president and Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh and Manipur Olympic Association president MLA Th Radheshyam as guests of honour.
At the event, the Chief Minister presented a cheque of Rs 1 crore and the appointment order to the post of Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) to the ace weightlifter.
Moreover, N Biren Singh also handed over an additional reward of Rs 10 lakh to the ace weightlifter for setting a world record in clean and jerk event of the 49kg category at the 30th Asian Weightlifting Championships at Tashkent (Uzbekistan) in April this year.
Education Minister S Rajen Singh also awarded Rs 3 lakh to Mirabai.
Addressing the gathering, Mirabai Chanu dedicated her success at Tokyo to the people of Manipur.
Saying that she won the medal because of the continuous support from her parents, family members, friends and coaches and the blessings of the people, Mirabai added that she was elated when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister N Biren Singh called her a champion.
Mirabai also said that she has been working relentlessly for this moment since the Rio Olympics to achieve the feat.
N Biren Singh said that Mirabai Chanu’s triumph bears witness to the value of hard work and sincerity. Expressing hope that Mirabai Chanu would continue working hard to achieve more success in future as well, the Chief Minister observed that her success at the Tokyo Olympics should be the stepping stone of her career. He also asked her to work harder till she wins an Olympic gold medal.
Stating that turnout of well-wishers would have been more massive and the celebration more grander had there been no curfew due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Minister said that another grand reception in honour of all the five athletes of Tokyo Olympics of the State would be organized by the Government when the  pandemic subsides.
Maintaining that the State has a sports policy to provide the much needed support to talented sports persons, N Biren Singh expressed hope that the State would be able to produce more successful players once the NSU starts functioning.
The Chief Minister also announced that the State Government would begin a scheme to provide annual financial grants to associations of the Olympic sports disciplines.
He added that a weightlifting academy with all necessary amenities would be set up in the State shortly to groom future Olympians.
YAS Minister Letpao Haokip said that Mirabai’s success has once again proven  that Manipuris have the potential to stand tall in the world’s biggest sporting event against the toughest opponents. Games and sports are embedded in Manipuri culture and the State is home to several traditional games, and there is no argument that Manipur is the sports capital of the country, Letpao Haokip said. Later, the Chief Minister along with the Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers and MLAs took Mirabai Chanu to her office at Ragailong, where she was greeted by senior police officers. After spending some quality time at her new office, Mirabai was taken to her hometown Nongpok Kakching in an open jeep escorted by Imphal East police passing through North AOC, Khurai Lamlong Bazar, Sawombung and Lamlai.
On reaching her hometown, she prayed at Ibudhou Khamlangba.