Mirabai Chanu secured India’s first gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games when she finished first in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting event at Gold Coast on Thursday. (CWG live updates)
In the process, reigning world champion Mirabai Chanu smashed the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games’ weightlifting record by lifting 196 kg. The previous Games’ record was 175 kg set by Augustine Nwaokolo of Nigeria in 2010.
“I want to do well in the Asian Games and win a gold medal there next,” Mirabai Chanu told reporters after bagging gold in women’s 48kg.
Mirabai started with a snatch of 80kg and took it to 86kg which was a Games record.
In clean and jerk, she started at 103 kg to break the Games record and then lifted 107 and 110 kg to shatter the record in clean and jerk as well as her own total.
Chanu was the favourite to win gold in 48kg as she had the best record among all those in fray. Her record of 194kg overall and 80kg in snatch, she proved way too much for her opponents to handle.
Chanu added weight to her record in her next two attempts to finally end at 86. She then added 110 kgs to her total in clean and jerk, leaving all competitors way behind.
This is India’s second medal of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, with P Gururaja winning a silver medal in the men’s 56kg category earlier in the day.
Raja Muthupandi, another Indian weightlifter, will be competing in the men’s 62 kg category later on Thursday.
