CWG 2026: The biggest good news for India in the Commonwealth Games 2026 was brought by star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. In the women’s 48 kg category, she not only won the gold medal with a record-breaking performance, but also added the first gold of this edition to India’s account. Chanu created two new records by lifting a total weight of 190 kg (85 kg snatch + 105 kg clean and jerk). In the men’s 60 kg category, Rishikant Singh performed brilliantly despite injury and strengthened India’s medal tally by winning the silver medal. India faced disappointment in lawn bowls. Where Putul Sonowal was out of the race for the semi-finals.
Mirabai Chanu once again proved why she is India’s most reliable weightlifter.
India’s Olympic medalist and world class weightlifter Mirabai Chanu once again showed her class on the big stage. In the final of the women’s 48 kg category, she dominated from the beginning and left the other players far behind. Chanu created a new Commonwealth record by lifting 85 kg in snatch. After this, by successfully lifting 105 kg weight in clean and jerk, he also created a new Commonwealth Games record in his name. With a total weight of 190 kg, he won the gold medal. With this victory, Mirabai Chanu won the third Commonwealth Games gold medal of her career. This also became the fourth Commonwealth Games medal in his name. Which is proof of his consistency and excellent fitness.
Result of women’s 48 kg category
Gold: Mirabai Chanu (India) – 190 kg (85+105) – Commonwealth Games Record
Silver: Ruth Asuoko Nyong’o (Nigeria) – 168 kg (75+93)
Bronze: Irene Jane Henry (Malaysia) – 167 kg (77+90)
4th place – Jo-Beth Deiragrea (Nauru) – 161 kg
Fifth place – Tammy Wong (England) – 160 kg
6th place – Nicole Roberts (Wales) – 154 kg
Seventh place – Alex Mackay (Scotland) – 142 kg
Eighth place – Janet Atieno Oduor (Kenya) – 133 kg
Chanu lifted 22 kg more weight than the Nigerian player who won the silver medal.
Rishikant Singh won silver despite injury
India’s Hrishikant Singh also performed brilliantly in the men’s 60 kg category. After the competition he revealed that he was struggling with an injury. But the goal of winning a medal for the country motivated him to enter the competition.
Rishikant won the silver medal by lifting a total weight of 264 kg (121+143). Malaysia’s Mohammad Anik Bin Kasdan won the gold medal by lifting 273 kg. Rishikant created a Commonwealth Games record by lifting 121 kg in snatch. After this, he successfully lifted 143 kg in clean and jerk in the first attempt. While he fell a few kilos short of the gold, his performance despite the injury was inspirational for the entire Indian contingent.
Medal hopes dashed in lawn bowls
On the other hand, India suffered a setback in the men’s singles event of lawn bowls. Indian player Putul Sonowal had to face defeat against Sean James Parnis of Malta after the score of 10-4, 7-7.
With this defeat, Putul’s dream of reaching the semi-finals ended. Along with this, India’s hopes of a medal in this event also ended.
Great start for India
The Indian weightlifting team has given this indication by performing brilliantly in the initial days itself in the Commonwealth Games 2026. After which many medals can be expected from him this time also. Mirabai Chanu’s gold and Rishikant Singh’s silver have proved to be a strong start to India’s campaign. The special thing was that both the players performed at record level in their respective matches. Due to this, the morale of the Indian team has also increased a lot.
Mirabai Chanu’s amazing record
Mirabai Chanu, who hails from Manipur, has been the biggest identity of Indian weightlifting for the last many years. He has consistently won medals for India in the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games. His biggest strength has been handling pressure in big matches and consistently performing well. This is the reason why she is counted among the most trusted players of the Indian sports world.
Hope for medals in future too
The Commonwealth Games 2026 are still in the initial stages and the Indian contingent is now eyeing events like weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, badminton, shooting, table tennis and athletics. India has traditionally been strong in these games and the medal count is expected to increase rapidly in the coming days.