As a glowing Mirabai Chanu walked into the mixed zone to meet the Indian media here on Sunday, she was in full spirits. So much so that when the cameramen bent down on their knees to fix their microphones, she smiled and said: “Mera Aashirwad! Please quickly finish as I have not eaten for the last few days.”
Mirabai was the darling of the packed gathering at the Scottish Event Campus during the Games. Going for her third successive Commonwealth Games gold medal, the 31-year-old Indian broke records in both the snatch and clean and jerk with ease. The entire gathering gave her a rousing reception after she completed her lifts and secured gold in the women’s 48kg weightlifting event.
“I am very happy that I was able to get my third gold medal for India,” she said. Mirabai said there was a lot of pressure on her, but said she was delighted that she was able to handle it. “A lot was going on in my mind--whether I would be able to win the medal this time. I am relieved,” she said.
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Mirabai revealed that maintaining the 48kg category had been a difficult task. “This performance is very important for me because I have been controlling my body weight for a long time. It is very difficult for me to bring it down to 48kg. From now on, I will focus on the Asian Games,” she said.
For India’s Rishikanta Singh Chanambam, too, it was an emotional moment. Winning a medal, and that too in the men’s section, was a “dream-come-true” moment for the 26-year-old as he claimed silver in the men’s 60kg weightlifting event.
“It’s a dream to win my first Commonwealth Games silver medal. My family will be very happy,” Rishikanta said. He further said that winning a medal for Manipur was really special and that he was proud to have achieved the feat of being the first Indian male to win the Commonwealth Games medal.
Rishikanta said he felt a shooting pain in his knee during the break after the snatch series. “I knew it would be bad if I give up. I told my coach I will have to win a silver and went for the final (clean and jerk) round,” he said.
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Published on Jul 26, 2026