Star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu gave India its first gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games after winning the women’s 48kg title in Glasgow on Sunday.The 31-year-old lifted a Commonwealth Games record 85kg in the snatch before registering a Games record 105kg in the clean and jerk. She finished with a total lift of 190kg to claim the gold medal.The victory gave Mirabai her third successive Commonwealth Games gold medal, having also won the title in the 2018 Gold Coast Games and the 2022 Birmingham Games.The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist had earlier won a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which were also held in Glasgow.Mirabai was in control of the competition from start to finish.
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She finished 22kg ahead of Nigeria’s Ruth Asuquo Nyong, who won the silver medal with a total lift of 168kg.Her campaign began with a setback as she failed her opening snatch attempt at 82kg. However, she recovered in her next attempts to post the record-breaking 85kg lift.Having taken an eight-kilogram lead on the clean and jerk as a result of her record-setting snatch, the Manipuri lifter dropped the bar on her first attempt at the clean and jerk, but responded in a champion’s manner by lifting 105kg on her second attempt and thus secured the gold medal well before the competition ended.The lift not only secured the gold but also shattered the Commonwealth Games record in the clean and jerk category and bettered the total lift mark.With the title already secured, Mirabai did not attempt her third clean and jerk lift, keeping in mind the Asian Games, which are scheduled to begin in less than two months.
