Weightlifting gave India its first gold medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games and continued to deliver strong results throughout the competition at the SEC Armadillo.
Women’s 48kg: Mirabai Chanu makes history
Mirabai Chanu won gold with a total lift of 190kg (85kg snatch, 105kg clean and jerk), setting Games records in all three categories – snatch, clean and jerk and total. It marked her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold and fourth medal overall, finishing 22kg clear of Nigeria’s Ruth Asuquo Nyong in silver and Malaysia’s Irene Jane Henry in bronze.
Men’s 60kg: a silver with a Games record
Chanambam Rishikanta Singh opened India’s weightlifting campaign with silver in the men’s 60kg, lifting a combined 264kg (121kg snatch, 143kg clean and jerk) and setting a Games record in the snatch discipline along the way. Malaysia’s Mohamad Aniq Bin Kasdan won gold with a 273kg total, while Kenya’s Joshua Amunga Mboya took bronze.
Men’s 65kg: another Indian silver
Muthupandi Raja added a further silver for India in the men’s 65kg category, giving Indian weightlifters three medals from the discipline’s early sessions alone.
Why it mattered
Weightlifting’s contribution set the tone for India’s wider campaign, which finished with 39 medals and fourth place on the overall medal table. Chanu’s individual achievement also cements her position among India’s most successful Commonwealth Games athletes, even if her overall medal count still trails shooting legends like Jaspal Rana and Samaresh Jung.
With weightlifting confirmed as part of the sports programme for Ahmedabad 2030, Chanu has already indicated she intends to compete again – this time in front of a home crowd. If Rishikanta Singh and Muthupandi Raja can build on their Glasgow silvers over the next four years, India could realistically challenge for multiple golds in the discipline on home soil, particularly if lighter and heavier weight categories both see strong domestic competition before then.