Worth the 'Weight': Mirabai Chanu Lifts India to Its First Commonwealth Gold; Weightlifters Add Two Silvers
- Jul 27
- 3 min read
Mirabai Chanu Commonwealth Games: Mirabai Chanu's record-breaking gold, combined with silver medals from Rishikanta Singh and Raja Muthupandi, highlighted India's strength in weightlifting once again. Boxing also offered encouraging signs, with Jadumani Singh and Preeti Pawar moving within one win of a guaranteed medal.
By Pranjal Gupta
New Delhi, July 26: The echo of Indian national anthem at the Commonwealth Games in Glassgow brought tears into the eyes of Mirabai Chanu, who won India's first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 48kg category. With Chanu, boxing athletes, Rishikanta Singh and Raja Muthupandi, brought home two silver medals. After the historic win, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the athletes for their best efforts to make India proud.
Mirabai Chanu Wins Gold with a Record Performance
Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu once again proved why she is regarded as one of India's finest weightlifters. The 31-year-old from Manipur won her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in the women's 48kg category.
She lifted a total of 190kg, made up of 85kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk. Her performance broke both the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records.
Mirabai recovered well after missing her opening attempts in both lifts. Once she had secured the gold medal and broken the records, she decided not to attempt her final clean and jerk lift, choosing to avoid unnecessary strain with the Asian Games approaching.
She finished a remarkable 22kg ahead of Nigeria's Ruth Asuquo Nyong, who claimed the silver medal.
A Patriotic Tribute Before the Competition
Mirabai's performance was made even more memorable by a personal gesture before the event.
She wore butterfly-shaped hair clips made from ribbons in the colours of the Indian flag. She later revealed that she had made them herself the previous night as a way of showing her love for the country.
"I wanted to do something for India, so I made these butterfly clips with Indian flag-coloured ribbons."
The emotional moments continued after the competition. As she stood on the podium while India's national anthem played, Mirabai struggled to hold back tears.
She described them as tears of happiness after winning India's first gold medal of the Games and thanked people across the country for their support and prayers.
Rishikanta Singh Fights Through Injury to Win Silver
Rishikanta Singh won the silver medal in the men's 60kg weightlifting event after a determined performance despite carrying a knee injury.
He equalled the Commonwealth Games record in the snatch with a lift of 121kg and entered the clean and jerk in first place.
However, his injured knee affected him during the second phase of the competition. He managed only 143kg in the clean and jerk, finishing with a total of 264kg.
Malaysia's Mohamad Aniq Kasdan overtook him by producing a Games record clean and jerk lift of 152kg, giving him a winning total of 273kg.
Speaking after the event, Rishikanta said he had travelled to win gold but his injury prevented him from producing his best lifts. Even so, he made history by becoming the first male weightlifter from Manipur to win a Commonwealth Games medal.
Raja Muthupandi Adds Another Silver
India's excellent day in weightlifting continued when Raja Muthupandi secured the silver medal in the men's 65kg category.
He lifted 126kg in the snatch and 160kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 286kg.
Malaysia's Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin won the gold with a Games record total of 299kg, while Papua New Guinea's Morea Baru claimed bronze with 282kg.
With these results, India earned a medal in all three weightlifting events held that day.
