Pride of Northeast Mirabai Chanu wins gold in Singapore

Feb. 25: Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Mirabai Chanu on Friday qualified for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the 55 kg category. The Olympian bagged a Gold medal in the women’s 55 kg category in the ongoing Singapore Weightlifting International meet. Competing for the first time post-Olympic triumph, the Indian lifted 86 kg in the snatch category and 105 kg in clean and jerk which totalled the weight lifted by the champion to 191 kg. Ending the Singapore weightlifting tournament with a Gold Medal ensured her position in the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022, in Birmingham.

The other three Indian lifters competing on day one of the event — Sanket Sagar (55 kg), Rishikanta Singh (55 kg) and Bindyarani Devi (59 kg)– also sealed Commonwealth Games berths.

Six months of intense training and my never ending love for the sport continues to pay off as I qualify for the @CWG2022 🏋️‍♀️ I would like to extend my thanks to our @IndiaSports Weightlifting Federation of India @Media_SAI@OGQ_India & all the other stakeholders. 🙏#RoadToCWG22 pic.twitter.com/j7ojo14iHj

— Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (@mirabai_chanu) February 25, 2022

Before the tournament, Mirabai had decided to change her weight category from 49 kg to 55 kg. Having pulled out of the world championships in December, this was Chanu’s first competitive event since the historic Tokyo Games performance last July. “7 months of intense training and my never ending love for the sport continues to pay off as I qualify for the @CWG2022 in the 55kg and 49kg category,” Chanu said in a tweet after the victory.