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Mirabai Chanu Targets Commonwealth Games Gold but Keeps Focus on Asian Games, Won't Attempt 200kg in Glasgow
Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is India's biggest medal hope for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. She will compete in the 48kg category, aiming to secure her third consecutive gold medal.
Tokyo Olympics silver medalist and star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is poised to make history in Glasgow on July 26. She will be competing for gold at her third consecutive Commonwealth Games, which would be her fourth medal overall. However, her primary focus is on the Asian Games. In an interview with -Amar Ujala- while training in Birmingham, Mirabai shared that while athletes aim for their best form before major competitions, she doesn’t plan to push herself to the limit in Glasgow and will not attempt to lift 200kg there. Instead, she is looking to achieve her peak performance at the Asian Games starting on September 19, where she hopes to exceed her career-best lift of 205kg.
Chanu will compete in the 48kg category in Glasgow, whereas she is scheduled to compete in the 49kg category at the Asian Games. She is aware that this marks her final tournament in the 48kg class, as this weight category has been dropped from the Olympics. She previously won silver in this category in 2014 and gold on the Gold Coast in 2018, in addition to winning gold in the 49kg category at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Chanu states that she wants to ensure proper recovery for the Asian Games rather than taking on a full training load now.
Chanu is set to serve as the flag-bearer for the Indian contingent for the first time. She mentions that it had long been her dream to carry the Tricolour at the opening ceremony of a sporting event. Previously, she was unable to take on the role because her competitions were scheduled for the day after the opening ceremony; this time, however, the competition takes place after the ceremony, granting her this opportunity. According to Indian team coach Vijay Sharma, Mirabai faces a challenge from Nigeria's Ruth Asodko and Malaysia's Erin Jane Henry. Ruth won silver with a lift of 167 kg and Erin won bronze with 161 kg at the Commonwealth Championships held in India last year. Given this, Mirabai does not face a major challenge here.
