CWG 2022: IOA laud Mirabai Chanu's gold-winning feat and congratulate other medal-winning weightlifters

Birmingham, July 31: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Sunday (July 31) lauded Mirabai Chanu after the weightlifter won the country's first gold medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.

Chanu, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year, defended her Commonwealth gold from the 2018 edition with a record-breaking total of 201kg (88kg + 113kg) in the 49kg women's event at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on Saturday (July 30).

Mirabai's gold took India's medal tally to three, with fellow weightlifters Sanket Sargar and Gururaja Poojary winning a silver and bronze earlier in the day in the men's 55kg and 61kg categories, respectively.

Commonwealth Games 2022, Weightlifting: India Weightlifters List, Event Dates, Results & Live Streaming Info

Sargar finished second with a total lift of 248kg, one kg shy of gold, while Gururaja finsihed third with a total lift of 269kg. Later, Bindyarani Devi won the silver medal in the women's 55kg and sealed a fourth medal for the country.

Like Mirabai, Devi also broke a Commonwealth Games record with a lift of 116kg in clean & jerk. And the weightlifting contingent received praise from the IOA for their medal-winning feats.

"To be one of the strongest medal prospects and live up to the expectations is not easy, but Ms Mirabai Chanu has done that with excellence and we are very happy to see her and her support system's efforts come to fruition today," IOA acting president Anil Khanna said.

"Better yet, she challenged herself to attempt the 90kg lift. Though the result wasn't the desired one, Ms Chanu's commitment to pushing the envelope and setting the bar higher as one of India's best athletes is commended by the IOA.

"We congratulate her and the other medallists, Mr Sanket Sargar, Mr Gururaja Poojary, and Ms Bindyarani Devi for performing with excellence in their respective categories," added Khanna.

11 more weightlifters will be in action at the games later with three including rising prospect Jeremy Lalrinnunga set for comeptition as early as Sunday (July 31). So, India will hope their medal tally swells to seven.