‘2 days no food, 3 days no water’: Mirabai Chanu battles brutal weight cut for 3rd straight CWG gold
New Delhi: Mirabai Chanu once again proved why she is India’s biggest name in weightlifting after winning her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal in the women’s 48kg category in Glasgow on Sunday. The Olympic silver medallist dominated the competition from start to finish, setting new Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games records on her way to another memorable victory.
The 31-year-old lifted a total of 190kg, including 85kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk. Her performance left the rest of the field far behind, with Nigeria’s Ruth Asuquo Nyong finishing second on 168kg, 22kg behind the Indian champion.
The victory became even more emotional as Mirabai stood on the podium with tears in her eyes while the national anthem played. Wearing tri-coloured ribbons in her hair, she celebrated another milestone in an already remarkable career.
Tough road to another gold
After the medal ceremony, Mirabai revealed the sacrifices she had made just to compete in the 48kg category. “Jaldi jaldi karo, maine kuch khaaya nahi hai 2 din se (please do this quickly I haven’t eaten in 2 days),” was the first thing Mirabai told reporters.
She later explained the challenge of cutting weight as she revealed, “Managing my weight is extremely difficult. For any athlete, controlling body weight takes an immense struggle. When I compete in the 48 kg category, It is difficult because I barely have any room to lose more. To make weight this time, I had to stop everything. I couldn’t eat food and haven’t drunk water for three days.”
VIDEO | Glasgow, Scotland: Star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu wins women’s 48kg title, opens India’s gold medal account in Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
She says, “I am very happy. This is my third gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and my fourth Commonwealth medal… pic.twitter.com/LXAWu4W1Gn
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 26, 2026
“50.5kg is my natural weight so for 49 kg, a cut 1.5kg but for 48kg it becomes more which is really tough,” she said.
Champion’s response under pressure
Mirabai’s campaign did not begin perfectly as she failed her opening snatch attempt at 82kg. However, she quickly recovered, cleared the weight on her second attempt and went on to break the Commonwealth record.
She also missed her opening clean and jerk attempt at 105kg before successfully lifting the same weight on her second try. That effort secured the gold medal and set new Commonwealth Games records in the clean and jerk and total lift. With the title already wrapped up, she skipped her final attempt to avoid unnecessary strain ahead of the Asian Games.
The victory was also an emotional one for Mirabai, who thanked her mother and coach Vijay Sharma for standing by her through every challenge. She admitted there was plenty of pressure from family and friends but was delighted to deliver another gold. More importantly, she heads into the Asian Games with confidence after once again showing why she remains one of the world’s best weightlifters.