Mirabai Chanu wins Gold for India at Commonwealth Games

STAR weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the first gold for India at the 21st edition of the Commonwealth Games with a power-packed performance in the women's 48 kilogram category in Gold Coast, Australia on 05 April 2018.

Mirabai Chani won the first Gold medal for India in CWG 2018.

The Manipuri powerhouse left the competition far behind by setting Games and Commonwealth records in the snatch, clean and jerk as well as the total.

She registered 86 kg in the snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk for a total of 196 kg. Such was her dominance that she net a record record in each of her six lifts in the competition.

The reigning world champion thus obliterated the previous Games record of 175 kg set by Nigeria's Augustina Nwaokolo at the 2010 edition by a considerable distance.

Her previous personal best was 194 kg which she had set during her title winning run at the World Championships last year.

Marie Hanitra of Mauritius finished a distant second with a total of 170 kg while Dinusha Gomes of Sri Lanka took bronze with 155 kg.

Chanu started off on a rousing note by breaking the existing Games record with a lift of 80 kg.

She went on to break the record another two times with successful attempts of 84 kg and 86 kg, the latter being her new personal best.

That gave her a massive lead of 10 kilograms over second placed Marie at the end of the snatch session.

The Indian star started the clean and jerk session in similar fashion, lifting 103 kg in her first attempt to take the lead straightaway.

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SAIKHOM Mirabai Chanu (born 8 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. A regular presence in international events since 2014 in the 48 kg category, Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport.

GOLD MEDAL: Manipur's daughter makes a proud moment for India.

Chanu had won the silver medal in the women's 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow; Chanu went on broke the games record en-route to the gold medal at the 2018 edition of the event held in Gold Coast. Her biggest achievement came in 2017, when she won the gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, United States. On April 5, 2018, the 23-year-old weightlifter from Manipur won a gold medal at Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018. She smashed her way to a new personal record as well as the Games record by breaking six records in six lifts to bag the top prize in the women’s 48kg weightlifting.

Career

Chanu's first major breakthrough game at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games; she won the silver medal in the 48kg weight category.

Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the women's 48 kg category. However, she failed to finish the event as she failed to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section. In 2017, she won the Gold medal in the Women's 48 kg category by lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk) in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim, CA, United States. She hails from Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India.

Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk to win the first gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games 2018. En-route to the medal, she broke the games record for the weight category.

Awards

Chanu was felicitated by the Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, who presented her with a cash prize of ₹2 million.[6] In 2018, Chanu was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Personal information

Nationality      : Indian

Born              : 8 August 1994 (age 23)

Residence       : Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India

Height            : 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in)

Weight           : 48 kg (106 lb)

Country          : India

Sport             : Weightlifting

Event(s)         : 48 kg

Coached by     Kunjarani Devi

Women's weightlifting - Representing  India

World Championships

Gold medal – first place  2017 Anaheim 48 kg

Commonwealth Games

Gold medal – first place  2018 Gold Coast     48 kg

Silver medal – second place   2014 Glasgow 48 kg

~ IANS & Wikipedia

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