Sanamacha Chanu acknowledges that sports is considered a way of life and community service in Manipur

 Sanamacha Chanu (born 2 October 1978) is an Indian weightlifter who competed in the women's 53 kg weight class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. The 43 year old Chanu, is one of the most successful woman weightlifters in the country. She is an Arjuna awardee of the year 2000. She is from Imphal in Manipur state.

Sanamacha Chanu

Manipur also has a formidable legacy is weightlifting — lifters, especially women, from this tiny state make their presence felt with power-packed medal-winning performances. In Manipur, sports are considered a way of life and community service, not just a hobby, and begin from grassroots levels. Manipur is in the forefront in two decades of consistently churning out weightlifters that are among the best in the world.

Sanamacha Chanu acknowledges that the sports culture of Manipur is one of the main reasons for this. The sport club culture has been a part of Manipur for centuries now. These clubs might not necessarily be dedicated to a single sport. These clubs aren’t associated with any state or national associations. They are only present because of the love of sport and an outlet of activity for young kids. For a Manipuri child, there is an option other than studying and that is to play.

In Manipur, children are afforded the opportunity to decide what sport to play and what sport to pick. By the time they reach their teens, they may not be specialists in a particular sport, but a consistent level of physical activity leads to a far easier transition than most young athletes when moving professionally into a discipline.

As has been the case from the start of this century, a steady stream of women in weightlifting, heading to the farthest corners of globe to compete in the best tournaments on offer, continues to fuel the desire for what is a casual aspect of life, to become the centre-point of their existence. This attitude of the Manipuri people had immensely helped Sanamacha Thingbaijam Chanu on her way to success.

In 2002, Sanamacha Chanu scooped up three gold medals in the women’s 53-kg at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, on par with the exploits of Kunjarani in that edition medal-wise. Sanamacha Thingbaijam Chanu also competed in the women's 53 kg category weightlifting competition on August 15, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall in Athens, Greece. She had also been included in the national contingent for the Busan Asian Games, but could not participate because of an injury.

Sanamacha Chanu became a member of the Central Reserve Police Force in 1996. She set foot in the world wrestling championship after that. She had been a national champion for eleven times in her career. She has also set national records for five times and was also the best weightlifter of the country for three times. Chanu had also been All India Police Meet Champion for five times. She had also participated in the World Weightlifting Police Meet and World Power Lifting Police Meet in 1999. She has been bestowed with the Arjuna Award in 2000 for her contributions in weightlifting to the country.

 She became a champion in the world wrestling championship and set record in the 53-kilogram weight category. She also won three gold medals in the Commonwealth Games held in Tonga region. She retired from international games in 2007 and is working as the coach of central weight lifting team from then on.