BIRMINGHAM: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) lauded record-breaking weightlifter Mirabai Chanu on winning the country's first gold medal at the ongoing Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
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 category of women's weightlifting at the National Exhibition Centre here on Saturday.
Her 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.
Later, Bindyarani Devi won the silver medal in the women's 55kg and sealed the fourth medal for the country.
IOA acting president Anil Khanna said, "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. 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.