Mirabai Chanu

Mirabai Chanu Saikhom (born 9 August 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. She won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women's 49 kg event. On 17 April 2021, she set a world record in clean & jerk in the 49 kg category with a lift of in the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships, a record which she held till 5 September 2023.

Mirabai Chanu won a gold medal in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships. She has also won two silver medals at the World Weightlifting Championships. She has won three gold medals and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. In the 49 kg weight class, she set a new Commonwealth Games record in the snatch, clean & jerk, and overall categories in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which she bettered in the 2022 and the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Mirabai Chanu was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, and Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, by the Government of India in 2018. In 2022, she joined the I-League football club NEROCA FC as its brand ambassador.

Early and personal life Mirabai Chanu Saikhom was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East district, Manipur, to Saikhom Ongbi Tombi Leima and Saikhom Kriti Meitei. She is the youngest of the six siblings. She was named Mirabai as suggested by one of her sisters, who had a friend of the same name. Saikhom is a clan name commonly used by the Meitei people and Chanu is a name suffix used by unmarried girls of the community. Mirabai has identified herself as a follower of Sanamahism.

At the age of 12, Mirabai Chanu was able to carry a bundle of firewood which her elder brothers had found it hard. She soon started formal training at the Sports Academy at Khuman Lampak Main Stadium complex in Imphal.

Career Early career (2013–2016) Mirabai Chanu won her first major medal at the 2013 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships held in Batu Uban in November 2013. She won the gold medal in the 48 kg weight category with a combined lift of . In the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, she won a silver medal in the 48 kg category. She lifted a total of , and finished behind compatriot Khumukcham Sanjita, who won the gold medal with a lift of . She qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's 48 kg category. However, she was not classified in the final results, as she did not have a legal lift in any of her three attempts in clean & jerk.

World Championship and Commonwealth Games wins (2017–2020) On 30 November 2017, Mirabai Chanu won the gold medal in the women's 48 kg category in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held at Anaheim, California. She set a new competition record with a total lift of , including in snatch and in clean & jerk. In the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, she won a gold medal in the women's 48 kg category. She took part in the 2019 Asian Weightlifting Championships at Ningbo, but did not win a medal.

At the 2019 World Weightlifting Championships in Pattaya, Mirabai Chanu lifted a total of with in snatch and in clean & jerk to finish fourth. In the 2020 Senior National Weightlifting Championships, she set a new personal best and a national record in the 49 kg category when she lifted including in snatch and in clean & jerk. In April 2021, she won a bronze medal at the 2020 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent after she lifted in snatch and in the clean & jerk for a total of . a record which was later broken by Jiang Huihua on 5 September 2023.

Olympic medal and subsequent success (2021–2023)

In June 2021, Mirabai Chanu became the first Indian woman weightlifter to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics after she securing a quota based on the International Weightlifting Federation rankings. Competing in the women's 49 kg category at the Olympics in Tokyo, she lifted in snatch and failed in an attempt to lift . She lifted in clean & jerk in her second attempt and failed to clear in her last attempt. She won the silver medal with a total lift of , while Hou Zhihui won the gold with a lift. Thus, she won India's first ever Olympic medal in weightlifing, and she became the second Indian weightlifter, after Karnam Malleswari, to win an Olympic medal. She also became only the second Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal after P. V. Sindhu in 2016. She finished in fourth in the women's 49kg weightlifting event at the 2022 Asian Games with a total lift of with in snatch and in clean & jerk. During her final attempt at in clean & jerk, she suffered a thigh injury and was unable to complete the lift. In December 2022, she won a silver medal in the women's 49 kg category in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held at Bogotá with a total lift of .

Later years (2024-present) Mirabai Chanu's silver medal win in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships enabled her to qualify for her third straight Summer Olympics. She was the only Indian weightlifter to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She competed in the women's 49 kg weightlifting event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She lifted in snatch and in clean & jerk, which was way below her personal best of . With a total of , she narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, which was won by Thailand's Surodchana Khambao with a total.

In October 2025, Mirabai Chanu won her second silver medal in the World Weightlifting Championships. She finished second in the 48 kg category with a total lift of . In February 2026, during the Senior National Weightlifting Championships, she set three new national records with a lift in snatch and lift in clean & jerk, for a total of . In the 2026 Commonwealth Games held at Glasgow, she won a third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in women's 48 kg category. She lifted a total of with in snatch and in clean & jerk, while setting three new Commonwealth Games records.

Key results

Awards and honours

On 15 January 2022, Mirabai Chanu was given an honorary appointment as an Additional Superintendent of Police in the Manipur Police in recognition of her achievements in sports.

Individual honours Padma Shri (2018), India's fourth highest civilian honour Khel Ratna Award (2018), India's highest sporting honour Weightlifter of the Year (2021) by The Times of India

Others The Government of Manipur awarded to Mirabai Chanu after she won a gold medal in the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships. It awarded after she qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics, and a further for her participation in the Olympics. After she won a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, the Ministry of Railways announced a cash reward of and a promotion in her job in the Indian Railways. She was awarded from the Government of Manipur, from the Government of India, and from the Indian Olympic Association. She also received from BYJU'S, and from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

In popular culture Mei Iklaba Thamoi is a Shumang Kumhei (theater art in Meitei language) based on the life of Mirabai Chanu, directed by Shougrakpam Hemanta, and released on 19 September 2021. In 2021, a Metei language feature film, based on Mirabai Chanu's life, was announced by Seuti Films, and was to be directed by OC Meira.