India, July 27 -- At the SEC Armadillo arena in Glasgow, Scotland on July 26, Mirabai Chanu stood on the podium, tears rolling down her eyes, as the Indian national anthem played. The 31-year-old weightlifter from Kakching, Manipur, had just won her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold, an achievement that has etched her in an echelon of India's sporting giants. Excerpts from a conversation with her:

A. Jaise hi arena mein national anthem bajte hue suna, main yaad karne lagi ki main yahan tak kaise pahunchi. I was getting flashbacks and seeing visuals of me going through stuff that can break anyone and what I had to sacrifice and overcome to get to the podium. After all that, to now be standing in front of the world made me cry. Khu...