Mirabai Chanu has defended her 49kg weightlifting title at the 2022 Commonwealth GameStop, and has given India their first gold medal of the competition.
The Manipuri has set a world record by lifting 88 kilos in snatch, and 113 kilos in clean and jerk. Her victory follows Sanket Sargar, who won silver and Gururaja Poojary, who won bronze in their respective fields.
Mirabai Chanu pulls off title defense at Commonwealth Games
Marie Ranaivosoa of Mauritius won the silver medal in the competition. But, she was 29kg behind Chanu which goes to show exactly how dominating the performance was from the Indian.
She lifted 84kg in her very first attempt, establishing an 8kg lead over the second best. Afterwards, she lifted 88kg with ease as well, setting a record for the Commonwealth Games and reaching her personal best in the process.
Ambitiously, she went ahead with an attempt to lift 90kg, but she wasn’t able to do so. She lifted 109kg in clean and jerk in her very first attempt, which earned her the gold medal. But she wasn’t done there, as her team added four kg more to the barbell. Mirabai Chanu successfully lifted 113kg as well, and even though she couldn’t lift 115kg, it didn’t matter as she had already achieved the big objective.
