Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu's notable achievements over the years
What's the story
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu recently achieved another feat after winning her third successive Commonwealth Games (CWG) gold medal. Chanu, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medalist, secured her fourth CWG medal. A force to reckon with, the Manipur-born has shone at the Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and the Olympics, among others. Her journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, making her one of India's most celebrated athletes in recent times. Have a look at her achievements.
Breakthrough
Silver medal at 2014 CWG
Among her first breakthroughs was winning gold at the 2013 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Malaysia. She lifted 166kg in the women's 48kg event.
Chanu then shone at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Competing in the women's 48kg category, she lifted a total of 170kg to win the silver medal.
Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu, two years older than Mirabai, won gold with a total lift of 173kg.
Comeback
Gold at 2017 World Weightlifting Championships
After a horrific Rio 2016 Olympics, where she couldn't register a lift, Chanu clinched gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships in Anaheim.
She lifted a total of 194kg to finish on the podium.
This was India's first World Championship gold since Karnam Malleswari's back-to-back wins in 1994 and 1995, according to Olympics.com.
Record-breaking feat
Record-breaking run at CWG 2018
In 2018, Chanu broke the Commonwealth Games record by lifting a total of 196kg (86kg in snatch and 110kg in clean and jerk) in the Gold Coast edition.
The Indian weightlifter lifted a whopping 26kg more than her closest competitor to win the gold medal.
This was the first of her three Commonwealth Games gold medals.
Olympic achievement
Silver medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics
The highlight of Chanu's career came at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she won a silver medal (women's 49kg category).
She lifted a total of 202kg (87kg snatch + 115kg clean and jerk) to finish behind China's Hou Zhihui, who won gold with a combined lift of 210kg.
Chanu became only the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari at Sydney 2000.
She also became only the second Indian woman to win an Olympic silver.
Achievements
A look at other notable achievements
At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Chanu defended her title by lifting a total of 201kg.
That year, she also won her second World Championships medal (silver), which secured her qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
After missing out on the bronze medal in Paris, Chanu scripted history with her third successive CWG gold medal in Glasgow.