A historic silver medal and a radiant smile were not the only eye-catching things about Mirabai Chanu on Saturday in Tokyo. Her gold earrings shaped like Olympic rings were as striking, a gift from her mother who sold her own jewellery for them five years ago.

The hope was that the earrings would bring her “good luck”. It didn’t happen in the Rio 2016 Games, but Chanu made the little sacrifice count in Tokyo on Saturday with a silver medal and Saikhom Ongbi Tombi Leima has struggled to stop her tears from flowing ever since.