Mirabai Chanu secures India's first gold at 2026 Commonwealth

Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu secured her nation's first gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Sunday, July 26, with a dominant and record-breaking performance in the women's 48kg category. The victory marks her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal.

The 31-year-old from Manipur lifted a total of 190kg, setting new Commonwealth Games records in the snatch (85kg), clean and jerk (105kg), and total. Her winning margin was commanding, as Nigeria's Ruth Asuquo Nyong took silver with a total lift of 168kg, finishing 22kg behind Chanu.

The champion's path to gold featured moments of tension. She failed to register her opening snatch attempt at 82kg but recovered to successfully lift that weight on her second attempt, setting a new Games record. She then raised the bar to 85kg on her third snatch attempt, breaking her own newly-set record. A similar pattern unfolded in the clean and jerk, where she missed her first attempt at 105kg before effortlessly completing the lift on her second try, securing the gold and another Games record. With victory assured, Chanu opted to skip her third clean and jerk attempt, a strategic decision reportedly made with the...