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Chanu Saikhom Mirabai, a weightlifter, has again brought honour to India by earning the country’s first gold medal in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. She won the women’s 49 kg weightlifting competition. India’s third gold was also at the current CWG 2022 as Sanket Sargar earned the Silver and Gururaja brought the bronze. Mirabai Chanu, 27, lifted 201 kg to earn the Gold Medal. Mirabai Chanu, who had won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia, was much superior to the opponents as she lifted 113 kg in the clean and jerk and 88 kg in the snatch. Supportive messages began to arrive as soon as Mirabai Chanu took home the gold at the Commonwealth Games 2022. Learn more about her family, early life, a career as a weightlifter, and other facts.
Chanu Saikhom Mirabai: Biography
| Criteria | Details |
| Full Name | Chanu Saikhom Mirabai |
| Profession | Indian Weightlifter |
| Height (approx.) | in centimetres- 150 cm in metres- 1.50 m in feet inches- 4’ 11” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 48 kg in pounds- 106 lbs |
| Eye Colour | Black |
| Hair Colour | Dark Brown |
Chanu Saikhom Mirabai: Early Life and Family
On 8th August 1994, Chanu Mirabai was born near Imphal. Since she was 12 years old, her family has supported her desire to become a weightlifter. When she was able to raise the wood logs that her brother struggled to pick up and walk effortlessly back home, the family realised she was strong. She was regarded as the family’s heaviest lifter. Then her career started.
| Criteria | Details |
| Date of Birth | 8 August 1994 |
| Age (as of 2022) | 28 Years |
| Birthplace | Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India |
| Zodiac sign | Leo |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Manipur, India |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Food Habit | Non-Vegetarian |
| Hobbies | Travelling, Listening to Music, Playing Basketball |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
| Husband/Spouse | N/A |
| Parents | Father: Saikhom Kriti Meitei Mother: Saikohm Ongbi Tombi Leima |
| Siblings | Sister(s)- Saikom Rangita, Saikhom Shaya Brother- Saikhom Sanatomba Meitei Note: She has 5 siblings. |
| Food | Kangsoi |
Chanu Saikhom Mirabai: Weightlifting Career
- Manipur, India, is where Chanu Saikhom Mirabai was raised and born. She is the family’s youngest and 6th kid.
- She looks up to Kunjarani Devi. Her weightlifting career began in 2008 at the Khuman Sports Complex in Imphal, India, she said in an interview.
- Her community did not have a weightlifting facility when she was a youngster. Therefore, she had to go 44 kilometres daily for her training. She said that when she was 11 years old, she took home the first competition gold medal of her life in a small weightlifting competition.
- She officially started her weightlifting career when she competed in the South Asian Junior Games and the 2011 International Youth Tournament. In these competitions, she took home the gold.
- She actively participated in the Indian Junior Championship Game in Guwahati in 2013. The Best Lifter Award was given to her there.
- At the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, her total lift of 170 kg earned her a Silver Medal in the women’s 48 kg division.
- As a Senior Ticket Collector, she started working for the Indian Railways on 31st August 2015.
- In the women’s 48 kg division, she was chosen to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Sadly, she could not complete her event and was thus deprived of a medal.
- In the women’s 48 kg division, she was chosen to compete in the 2017 World Championships held in California. She gave India its first gold medal in 22 years, since 1995, lifting a total of 194 kilograms (85 kilograms snatch and 109 kilogram clean & jerk).
- She competed for India in the Commonwealth Games in 2018, where she won the women’s 48 kg weightlifting event’s gold medal on 5th April to become the nation’s first weightlifter.
- At a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 25th September 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind presented her with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Honours in Sports and Games, the highest athletic honour given by the Indian Republic.
- Chanu became the 2nd weightlifter from India to get an Olympic medal when she won silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games, after Karnam Malleswari, who got bronze in the 69 kg division in the 2000 Sydney Games. With Domino’s giving Mirabai Chanu a lifetime supply of free pizza, she said during a media interview shortly after her victory that she would want to have pizza as her first meal.
- She was the subject of the prestigious magazine Vogue’s October 2021 cover.
- She was designated the North Eastern Re Organising Cultural Association FC’s spokesperson in 2021.
- She was chosen to represent the ‘Stay in Play’ advertising campaign for the renowned sportswear company Adidas in 2021.
- She was given the title of Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) on 15th January 2022 by the CM of Manipur during a state-level facilitation event in Imphal.
- She won gold at the Singapore Weightlifting International on 25th February 2022.
- India was again delighted with Chanu Saikhom Mirabai as she won the gold medal in weightlifting at the current Commonwealth Games 2022.
Chanu Saikhom Mirabai: Awards and honours
| Criteria | Details |
| Event | 49 kg |
| Coach(es) | Vijay Sharma and Aaron Horschig |
| Medals | Olympics • Silver – Tokyo Olympics 2020 Asian Championships • Bronze – Tashkent (2020) World Championships • Gold – Anaheim (2017) Commonwealth Games • Silver – Glasgow (2014) • Gold – Gold Coast (2018) • Gold – Birmingham (2022) |
| Records | She broke the clean and jerk lifting world record in April 2021 at the Asian Championships in Tashkent with a mind-blowing 119kg lift. |
| Awards, Honours, Achievements |
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