Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (born 8 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. A regular presence in international events since 2014 in the 48 kg category, Chanu has won the World Championships and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions to the sport.
Chanu had won the silver medal in the women’s 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Glasgow; she went on broke the games record en-route to the gold medal at the 2018 edition of the event held in Gold Coast. Her biggest achievement came in 2017, when she won the gold medal at World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, United States.
Career
Chanu’s first major breakthrough game at the Glasgow edition of the Commonwealth Games; she won the silver medal in the 48kg weight category.
Chanu qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics in the women’s 48 kg category. However, she failed to finish the event as she failed to lift the weight in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk section. In 2017, she won the Gold medal in the Women’s 48 kg category by lifting a competition record 194 kg in total (85 kg snatch and 109 kg clean & jerk) in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim, CA, United States.
Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, 86 kg in Snatch and 110 kg in Clean and Jerk to win the first gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games 2018. En-route to the medal, she broke the games record for the weight category; the effort also marked her personal best performance.
Awards
Chanu was felicitated by the Chief Minister of Manipur, N. Biren Singh, who presented her with a cash prize of ₹2 million. She received India’s highest civilian sports honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for 2018. In 2018, Chanu was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
