Flawless Mirabai Chanu clinches India’s 1st gold at Commonwealth Games 2022, sets new Games record

Indian star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu scripted history at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday as she clinched the gold medal in the women’s 49kg category by setting a new Games record in both snatch and clean and jerk rounds of her final. It was a cakewalk to the gold medal for Chanu, who had absolutely no challengers in the final as she lifted 88 kg in snatch and followed it up with 113 kg in the clean and jerk round to lift 201 kg overall and finish on top of the podium.

Chanu headed into the 49kg women’s weightlifting contest as the defending champion having won the gold medal in the same category at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast in 2018. She was in a league of her own as she successfully defended her title with ease to live up to her favourite tag at the showpiece event.

It was a flawless performance from the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist in the 49 kg category as she started off by successfully lifting 84kg in her first attempt in the snatch round to set a Commonwealth Games record. However, the 27-year-old didn’t stop there and went on to better her lift to 88 kg in her second snatch attempt.

Also Read: Sanket Sargar wins India’s first medal at Commonwealth Games 2022, bags silver in weightlifting

With the 88 kg attempt, she not only set a fresh Games record but also matched her personal best in snatch. She then went for 90 kg in her third and final attempt but failed to settle with 88 kg as her best lift in the snatch which gave her an astounding lead of 12 kg heading into the clean and jerk round. Her nearest rival had the best lift of 76kg in the snatch round.

After setting a Games record in the snatch round, Chanu lifted 113 kg in the clean and jerk round to take her overall lift to 201 kg and set a new record. She has now won a total of three medals at the Commonwealth Games so far in her career. She had won a silver medal at the 2014 Games and has followed it up with back-to-back gold medals in the last two editions.

The Tokyo Olympics gold medallist has interestingly now broken the Commonwealth Games record in both 48kg and the 49kg women’s categories. The star weightlifter was a strong contender for a gold medal at the Games this year and she didn’t disappoint her fans in the final.

Also Read: Commonwealth Games 2022: Weightlifter Gururaja Poojary wins bronze medal in 61kg category

 “I’m really, really happy. I broke Commonwealth Games record in 48kg and now I have done it in 49kg,” Chanu said after clinching India’s first medal at the Games this year. Earlier in the day, India won two medals in weightlifting. While Sanket Sargar clinched silver in the men’s 55kg category, Gururaja Poojary won bronze in the men’s 61kg category.