In the women’s 49kg weightlifting final, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu took home the gold, giving India its first gold of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. After Sanket Sargar (silver) and Gururaja (bronze) earlier in the day, the 27-year-old lifted a total of 201 kg to win the yellow metal, India’s third medal on Day 2 of the ongoing competition. After returning with a silver in the women’s 55kg division, Bindyarani Devi eventually won India’s fourth medal.
As she lifted 88 kg in the snatch and 113 kg in the clean and jerk, Chanu, who had won the gold medal at the 2018 CWG in Gold Coast, Australia, was far ahead of the field. Congratulatory tweets began to flood Twitter as soon as Chanu won the gold medal.
Mirabai only needed to finish her first attempt in the clean and jerk round because of her outstanding performance in the snatch round, which saw her break the previous Commonwealth record, and she achieved it with ease, lifting 105 kg.
She lifted 113 kg on her second attempt after knowing she had won gold. She attempted to lift 119 kg in her third attempt but was unsuccessful, but it made little difference because she still won her second gold medal at the Commonwealth Games.
After the win, Chanu told: “I had come prepared to give the best performance in snatch. I wanted to do better than before in snatch, I touched it (her personal best), but could not cross it. But this performance is my best in the snatch to date, so I am very happy.”
“I knew the competition at CWG would be relatively easier and that is why I wanted to compete with myself. I wanted to improve my performance and I am happy with my effort,” she added.
