Mirabai Chanu Wins India’s First Gold At Commonwealth Games 2022

The Golden Girl Mirabai Chanu Wins Yellow Metal In Women's 49 Kg

Mirabai Chanu has delivered on the promise & won the first gold medal for India at Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham. She won the yellow metal in the women's 49 kg weightlifting competition by lifting a total of 201 kg. When Chanu snatched 88 kg and lifted 113 kg, she was far ahead of the competition. Chanu had won the gold medal at the 2018 CWG in Australia's Gold Coast. As a result, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist successfully defended her championship in a different weight class (49 kg). Silver went to Mauritius' Marie Hanitra Roilya Ranaivosoa (172kg) & bronze to Canada's Hannah Kaminski (171 kg).

Other Wins at Commonwealth Games 2022

Sanket Mahadev Sargar, a weightlifter from India, won silver in the men's 55 kg division on Saturday, giving his country its first medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022. He wanted nothing less than the gold, but two failed clean & jerk attempts spoiled his chances, & settled for a combined lift of 248 kg (113 kg+135 kg) to finish second. The bronze medal in the men's 61 kg category went to fellow lifter Gururaja Poojary, who had won the silver in the previous competition (56 kg). Saikhom Mirabai Chanu, who broke Commonwealth Games records to earn India's first gold medal, was the day's main draw, though. Later, boxer Lovlina Borgohain, a medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, began her career with a 5-0 triumph. Bindyarani Sorokhaibam then won the women's 55 kg weightlifting event, giving India its fourth medal of the day. The defending champion women's table tennis team lost, while the women's hockey team also triumphed. This was Catch Day 2 highlights.

Mirabai’s Supremacy at Commonwealth Games 2022

Mirabai, 27, stamped her class in the event. Once all her rivals had completed their tries in the snatch, she sauntering walked to the middle and near the chalk stand. She then proceeded to walk quickly before stopping at the centre. She made her normal bow in front of the barbell and then shrieked to energise herself. At 84 kg, Mirabai completed a successful first lift. No sweat. She reached her personal best of 88kg for snatching a minute later. Mirabai, who is getting ready for the World Championships in December, was primarily looking ahead to hitting the 90kg mark in the snatch in Birmingham. On her third try, she loaded the bar with 90 kg and gave it her all. Though she failed, she came closer than she had in the previous two competitions. Mirabai’s supremacy during the event was a near certainty & it played out as expected. During the interval between the snatch & the clean and jerk sections, the audience cheered on Mirabai every time she popped up on the giant screen. The cameras loved her. In the clean and jerk section, Mirabai was the only weightlifter to have an entry weigh more than 100kgShe started off lifting 109 kg, then increased it to 113 kg on her second try. On her third try, she was unable to lift 115 kg.

Mirabai’s Achievements

One of India's most accomplished weightlifters is Mirabai. Before earning the yellow metal once more in 2022, she had had a silver (2014) and a gold (2018) at the Commonwealth Games. She also won a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships & has several Commonwealth Championships medals and an Asian Championships medal. The pinnacle of her career occurred last year in Tokyo when she earned India's first weightlifting silver medal in the Olympics, surpassing Karnam Malleswari's bronze in Sydney 2000 For the first time, women were allowed to lift weights. With no one to oppose her, Mirabai Chanu may have felt a little out of place in leadership of the weightlifting division. Mirabai had a big smile on her face when the medals were given out. It was very different from last year when we couldn’t see her grin. The mask was turning out to be a downer. There was no mask in Birmingham, allowing us to glimpse that beautiful smile.