Mirabai Chanu wins gold in 49kg weightlifting

Olympic silver-medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion Mirabai Chanu bagged the gold medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting competition at the ongoing National Games 2022 in Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar on Friday.
Mirabai Chanu, representing Manipur, seized the gold with a total lift of 191 kgs – 84kgs in snatch and 107 kgs in the clean and jerk. Fellow player and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu took home the silver medal with a total lift of 187 kgs – 82kg in snatch and 105kg in clean and jerk.
Odisha’s Sneha Soren, who bagged the gold medal at the Khelo India University Games earlier this year, rounded off the podium after lifting a total of 169kg – 73kg in snatch and 96kg in the clean and jerk.
The 28-year-old Mirabai Chanu took home the gold despite a wrist injury.
“I recently injured my left wrist during training at NIS, Patiala, after which I made sure not to risk it further,” Mirabai Chanu said after her victory.
“The world championships are coming up in December. It is a proud moment for me to represent Manipur at the National Games, and the excitement doubled when I was asked to lead the contingent at the opening ceremony. It normally gets hectic to attend opening ceremonies as my event starts early the next day, but I felt I must challenge myself this time around,” she added.
In the snatch, Mirabai Chanu grabbed an early benefit by raising the bar to 81kgs in her very first attempt, before a clean effort of 84kg in her second lift gave her an advantage of 3kgs over Sanjita, who could manage 80kg and 82kgs in her first two attempts.
Sanjita’s third attempt at lifting 84kg was decided as a foul. Mirabai chose to save her energy and didn’t turn up for the third attempt.
In the clean and jerk, Sanjita successfully lifted 95kgs in her maiden attempt before raising the bar to 100kg and 105kg, with all three attempts getting the green light from the judges.