When 12-year-old
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu started lifting heavy logs as a child in her hometown of
Nongpok Kakching in Manipur, located 44 kilometres away from Imphal, little did
she know that she would go on to represent her country at the world stage one day.

But
Manipur knew, and the state had prepared its infrastructure to house and train an
Olympian weightlifter
.

Mirabai’s
talents were first noticed by Anita Chanu, a former international weightlifter
and coach.

Low
centre of gravity

“When
I saw her lift for the first time, she had a killer instinct,” said Anita Chanu
to The Indian Express. Anita says that people from the northeastern states of
India are smaller in height but make up for it in low centre of gravity, like
Messi and Maradona. This is a crucial aspect of why people from Manipur do so
well in sport, whether weightlifting, football or boxing.

It’s
this low centre of gravity that helped Mirabai pick almost four times her
bodyweight across five successful lifts in snatch and clean and jerk
categories.

But height
or body type aren’t enough to explain Manipur’s stellar record. The secret also
lies in the local cuisine and more importantly, what has been the local cuisine
for generations.

Simplistic
diet

For
Manipur’s athletes, it is their consumption of rice that dictates success in a
sport like weightlifting.

“Most
athletes in lower weight categories come from Asian countries like China and
South Korea. These countries are famous for sticky rice being a part of their
diet. In Manipur, most people eat rice as a premier source of energy,” says
Sunil Elangbam, the secretary of Manipur weightlifting.

This
simplistic way of nutrition is a general staple for the people of Manipur. Rice
aids in athletes’ physical training. The carbohydrates are easy to digest and
also help the body recover faster after intense workouts.

The
culture of sports

Children
in Manipur
are afforded the opportunity to decide on their choice of sport. As
they grow up to be teens, they may not become specialists in any particular
sport but have developed necessary physical prowess transition across sporting
disciplines. The sport club culture which has been part of Manipur for
centuries helps make these extremely capable athletes.  

From the beginning of this century, Manipur has had
a steady stream of champion women weightlifters. It is the combination of their
body type, diet and sports culture that brews itself into the perfect storm. A
silver medal in Tokyo now adorns Manipur.