Mirabai wins third successive CWG gold, looks to one in India in 2030 and aims for Asian Games

Anand Krishnaswamy in Glasgow

Glasgow, Scotland, July 26: Three-time gold medallist, Mirabai Chanu Saikhom, returned to Glasgow, where she began her Commonwealth Games journey with a silver medal in 2014. Twelve years later, Mirabai, who turns 32 next month, turned in a dominant performance in the women’s 48 kg category to win the gold medal by a massive margin despite failing in the first attempt at both the snatch and clean and jerk segments. It was India’s first gold medal of the Games and the second medal of the day after weightlifter Rishikanta Singh Chanambam grabbed silver in men’s 60kg weightlifting.

In the process Manipuri Mirabai, who lifted firewood in her childhood, lifted her way to new records, to give India its first gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Competing in her fourth games, Mirabai has now won silver in 2014 and followed that up with gold medals in 2018 (Gold Coast), 2022 (Birmingham) and 2026 (Glasgow). The return of Commonwealth Games to Glasgow gave her a chance to go one better than her effort in 2014 and she grabbed the chance.

Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games logo

“I am now looking to make it four gold medals in Ahmedabad in 2030,” said an emotional Mirabai, who confessed she had curtailed her eating over the last few days to maintain her weight category. It paid off. She dedicated her medal to her mother, who has been her inspiration.

Mirabai’s string of medals also includes a silver in the Tokyo Olympics and she was fourth, narrowly missing a second medal in Paris. Her collection, however, lacks an Asian Games medal, which she aims to make up for in Japan later this year.

Mirabai, multiple record holder, was the focus at the weightlifting competition at the SEC Armadillo. The Indian powerhouse chose to begin her first attempt in both the snatch and the clean & Jerk categories of the women’s 48 kg weightlifting competitions with attempts that were higher than all her rivals’ final attempts.

She gave her fans a scare by failing at the first attempt in the 82kg snatch . She successfully lifted the weight in her second attempt and then chose to set a new Commonwealth Games record in snatch in her third and final attempt and set 85 kg as the new benchmark.

She again failed in her first attempt at 105kg for clean and jerk. But she left nothing in doubt as she was successful in her second attempt for a total of 190 kg, which was way clear of her closest rival.

MIrabai then chose to pass her third lift in clean and jerk, after seeming to have niggle in her wrists. Clearly she is also preserving herself for the Asian Games in Japan.

Heading into the second phase of the competition Mirabai set the games record by lifting 105 kg on her second attempt and then decided against a third attempt at lifting as she had already lifted a weight more than 10kg greater than her nearest rival, Ruth Asuquo Nyong of Nigeria who had picked up 93 kg to win the silver.

Mirabai’s total of 190 kg (85 kg snatch and 105 kg in C&J) was miles (22 kg more) clear of Nigerian Ruth Asuquo Nyong’s total of 168 (75 kg + 93 kg) kg for the silver medal. Irene Jane Henry of Malaysia lifted a total of 167 kg (77 kg + 90 kg) to win bronze.

Earlier in the morning session, Rishikanta Singh Chanambam, the men’s 60 kg entrant, won the silver medal after setting the games record in the snatch section of the competition. His successful attempt of 121 kg was more than double his body weight. He added 143kg in Clean and Jerk for a total of 264 kg.

Soon after Rishikanta’s snatch record effort in snatch, the eventual gold medallist Bin Kasdan Mohamad Aniq of Malaysia matched the same eight in his third attempt in snatch.

Chanambam made a successful lift of 143 kg in his first attempt in the Clean & Jerk section but failed at 148 kg and 151 kg in his second and third attempts.

Mohamad Aniq, tied with Rishikanta in snatch, forged ahead with a clean and jerk attempt of 145 kg with a second attempt of 149 kg and a 152 kg lift to set the new games record and win the gold medal.

Joshua Amunga Mboya of Kenya picked the bronze medal.