CWG 2026: Mirabai Chanu leads Manipur’s five-pronged weightlifting medal attack

Mirabai Chanu during the opening ceremony of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026. (PTI Photo) As the Commonwealth Games weightlifting competition gets underway in Glasgow on Sunday, all eyes will be on Mirabai Chana, who steps onto the platform in the women’s 48kg category as she bids for three Commonwealth Games titles in a row.Mirabai is one of India’s most consistent athletes and the country will be hoping for another memorable performance from the Manipuri star as she returns from a career-threatening injury. This time, however, he will not be the country’s only hope for a medal.Five members of the Indian weightlifting squad hail from Manipur, underscoring the state’s remarkable dominance in the sport. Their progress will be watched with immense pride by veteran trainer S Brojendro Singh, who played a key role in the early development of all five, including Mirabai.

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“It is a matter of great pride for me. I trained all five when they first started weightlifting. To see them now representing India at the Commonwealth Games is a huge satisfaction,” Brojendro, who has been training at the state sports academy since 2004, told STOI.While Brojendro believes that discipline, dedication, dedication and unwavering commitment have been essential to Manipur’s success in weightlifting, he says Mirabai’s achievements have transformed the sport in the state.“Mirabai inspired a whole generation. After people saw what she achieved, many youngsters took up weightlifting believing that they too could reach that level. She showed them that it was possible,” he said.One of those inspired by Mirabai is Nirupama Devi, the 2025 Commonwealth Championship silver medalist who will make her CWG debut in the women’s 63kg category. Although she earned a spot in the Junior National Camp in 2016, things didn’t go according to plan after 2019.“There were injuries, illnesses and the Covid-19 break that kept me out of the national camp. But I continued to work hard and now I’m just focused on doing my best in the CWG,” Nirupama said.Now training under chief national coach Vijay Sharma in Modinagar, she marked her comeback with a silver medal total of 217 kg at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships. Apart from her coaches, Nirupama says Mirabai also played an important role in her development.“Mirabai didi always guides us. Whenever we don’t understand something, she patiently explains and motivates us. She has always been very supportive,” she said.Another big hope for a medal is the young Martina Devi, who will compete in the women’s +86kg category. After recovering from an ACL injury, she enjoyed a breakout season in 2026, winning both the junior and senior national titles.Bindyarani Devi, who won silver in the women’s 55kg category at the Birmingham CWG, has since moved up to the 58kg division. Rishikanta Singh, who narrowly missed out on the podium in Birmingham, has also changed the category to 60kg and heads to Glasgow after winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships.Meanwhile, the entire Indian weightlifting squad completed the final phase of their preparations at the University of Wolverhampton’s Walsall Campus, where they trained from June 29 until last week before traveling to Glasgow.The training camp is expected to play a key role as the lifters look to peak at the right time in the coming days. For Brojendra, however, the medals will only tell part of the story. Watching five lifters under his tutelage begin their journey to represent India at the Commonwealth Games is, he says, the greatest reward of his coaching career.