Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to social media to congratulate Mirabai Chanu for clinching India's first medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Saturday. The weightlifter clinched a silver medal in the women's 49kg category to open India's account in Tokyo. This was redemption for the Manipuri weightlifter, who failed to register a single legitimate lift in the 2016 Rio Games. Taking to Twitter, Modi shared a photo of him shaking hands with Mirabai Chanu, and he captioned it as, "Could not have asked for a happier start to @Tokyo2020! India is elated by @mirabai_chanu's stupendous performance. Congratulations to her for winning the Silver medal in weightlifting. Her success motivates every Indian. #Cheer4India #Tokyo2020".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also congratulated Mirabai for her terrific performance. He tweeted, "Congratulations to @mirabai_chanu for winning silver medal in weight lifting. This is first medal for India in Tokyo Olympics. Every Indian is proud of you."
The cricket fraternity too erupted in joy with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan among other congratulating the Indian weightlifter.
Indian Premier League (IPL) teams Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) too hailed the weightlifter for her Olympic success.
Bollywood actor Sunny Deol also took to Twitter to pass on his wishes, and wrote, "Great beginning @mirabai_chanu Congratulations India #MirabaiChanu #IndiaAtTokyo2020".
Amit Shah took to social media to laud Mirabai, and he tweeted, "So proud of @mirabai_chanu for clinching the silver medal in the Women's 49kg Weightlifting category at the #OlympicGames. Wishing you all the very best for your future endeavours."
Other well-known personalities too took Twitter to congratulate Mirabai Chanu on her success.
The gold medal in the 49kg category was won by China's Hou Zhihui while Indonesia's Windy Cantika Aisah took home the bronze medal.