Just as she did in Gold Coast 2018, Mirabai Chanu won India’s first gold medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games by cruising to the title in the women’s 49kg weightlifting final in Birmingham on Saturday.The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist started as the overwhelming favourite in the event and stamped her class by setting the Games record with a total lift of 201kgs (88kgs snatch and 113kgs clean and jerk, also Games Records).
Chanu’s 201kgs total was 29kgs higher than silver medal winner Marie Ranaivosoa of Mauritius who lifted 172kgs total (76kgs snatch and 96kgs C&J). Canada’s Hannah Kaminski took bronze with a total lift of 171kgs (74kgs snatch and 97kgs C&J).
In snatch, she lifted 84kgs with her first attempt before setting the games snatch record with an 88kg lift. She looked to get past the elusive 90kgs mark with her final attempt but failed in that one.In clean and jerk, she lifted 109kgs, after all other athletes competed for other medal positions, with her first attempt to clinch gold. She lifted a Games record 113kgs in her second attempt and looked to better it in her third attempt but couldn’t lift 115kgs.Chanu’s gold medal followed the silver won by Sanket Sargar in the 55kg event and the bronze won by Gururaj Poojary in the 61kg event.
Earlier, India opened its medal account at the Commonwealth Games 2022 on Saturday with 21-year-old weightlifter Sanket Mahadev Sargar claiming a silver in the men’s 55 kg category. He wanted nothing less than the gold, but two failed clean and jerk attempts spoil his chances, and settled for a combined lift of 248 kg (113 kg+135 kg) to finish second. Then fellow lifter Gururaja Poojary, the silver medallist in the last edition (56 kg), took the bronze in men’s 61 kg.
