Mirabai Chanu wins gold at Commonwealth Championships, marks record-breaking comeback

Mirabai Chanu, who returned to competition after a year-long hiatus, produced a record-breaking performance on August 25, winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad.

The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist heaved a total of 193kg (84kg+109kg) to smash the Commonwealth total, snatch and clean and jerk records and stand atop of the women's 48kg podium.

The 31-year-old, who moved down from the 49kg weight class, which doesn't feature in the Olympics anymore, was competing for the first time since her fourth place finish in the Paris Games last August.

Chanu, who has battled injuries in recent years, was last seen at the Paris Games in last August, where she missed the podium by a kilogram.

With the new Olympic weight categories in force for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, the 31-year-old has decided to move down from the 49kg division to 48kg, a weight class in which she won her world championship title and two Commonwealth Games medals, but hasn't competed in it since 2018.

Managing the weight will be a challenge, and Chanu herself has admitted it. But the tenacious Manipuri, who has collected almost every accolade the sport has to offer, has embraced it.

Working closely with chief national coach Vijay Sharma, she has also been fine-tuning her technique in pursuit of the elusive 90kg snatch.

However, as she works towards peaking in October's World Championships, Chanu will not be going full tilt at the Commonwealth Championships, which is one of the qualifying tournaments for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.