Mirabai Chanu credits family, coach after historic Commonwealth Games hat-trick

Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu credited her family’s unwavering support for helping her overcome injuries and setbacks after creating history by winning a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in Glasgow on Sunday.

“My family has supported me immensely throughout my journey. I have suffered many injuries, but they always stood by me,” Mirabai told reporters after winning the women’s 48kg title at the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Advertisement

The 31-year-old said her family’s encouragement kept her motivated through the most challenging phases of her career. She also acknowledged the contribution of her long-time coach, Vijay Sharma.

“From the very beginning, there have been many things we have had to work hard on and stay focused about, whether it is the Games or a championship. We always plan how to perform and how to maintain that level of performance. Vijay sir has always supported me in all of this,” she said.

Mirabai revealed that she had not planned to attempt heavier lifts in Glasgow, but a missed opening snatch forced her to rethink the strategy.

“We were not planning to push ourselves too hard at these Games, but my first attempt, which I failed, was because of my own mistake. So we had to reassess our strategy. At the same time, we also had to evaluate how training had gone and where further improvements were needed. I feel this performance is very important for me because I have been controlling my body weight for a long time, and bringing it down to 48kg has been very difficult,” she said.

After missing her opening snatch attempt at 82kg, Mirabai bounced back by clearing the weight on her second try before successfully lifting 85kg on her final attempt. The effort earned her new Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records in the snatch.

She faced another setback in the clean and jerk after failing her opening lift, but recovered strongly to lift 105kg on her second attempt. That effort not only secured the gold medal comfortably but also helped her set new Commonwealth Games records in the clean and jerk and overall total.

With the victory, Mirabai became the first Indian woman weightlifter to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals, having also topped the podium at Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022. She also became India’s first gold medallist at the Glasgow 2026 Games.

Reflecting on the medal ceremony, Mirabai said the most emotional moment was hearing the Indian national anthem after winning the country’s first gold medal of the Games.

“Whenever our National Anthem is played, tears come automatically. They are tears of happiness because I won the first gold medal for India,” she concluded.