Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Mirabai Chanu won the first gold for India at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 in the 49kg category. Mirabai created a CWG record for snatch with 88kg lift on her second attempt which is also her personal best.
In clean and jerk, Mirabai lifted 113kg to get close to her Olympics total. She lifted a combined weight of 201 kg, one less than what she achieved to win silver last year. However, 201 kg is a record lift in CWG history.
Mauritius' Roilya Ranaivosoa won the silver medal with a total of 172 kg (76 kg snatch and 97 kg clean and jerk). Canada’s Hannah Kaminski bagged the bronze medal with a total of 171 kg (74 kg snatch and 97 kg clean and jerk).
Mirabai set the bar too high for her opponents. No other weightlifter in the category had set a target of over 80 kg in the snatch whereas Mirabai’s first attempt was 84. Similarly, in the clean and jerk, no weightlifter had registered for 100 kg or above.
This is Mirabai’s second gold medal at the CWG. In Gold Coast CWG 2018, she won the gold medal. Earlier, in Glasgow CWG 2018, she won the silver medal.
