Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu once again stole the spotlight as India enjoyed a rewarding fourth day at the Commonwealth Games 2026, powering to a historic third consecutive Commonwealth title. The weightlifting icon was joined on the podium by Rishikanta Singh and Raja Muthupandi, who bagged silver medals to cap a memorable outing for the Indian contingent on Sunday.

Weightlifting accounted for all of India’s medals on the day, taking the country’s overall tally to four medals, one gold, two silver and one bronze, with India climbing to eighth in the standings. There were more reasons to cheer in boxing, where Preeti Pawar marched into the quarterfinals and Jadumani Singh Mandengbam outclassed Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman in a fiercely contested Round of 16 clash. Elsewhere, however, India endured setbacks in lawn bowls, swimming, artistic gymnastics and wheelchair basketball.

WEIGHTLIFTERS BRING IN ALL THE GLORY

Mirabai Chanu reaffirmed her dominance on the Commonwealth stage by clinching a third straight gold medal in the women’s 48kg category. The Manipuri star rewrote both the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games record books with a total lift of 190kg, made up of 85kg in the snatch and 105kg in the clean and jerk.

Her triumph handed India its first gold medal of the Glasgow Games and the country’s third medal overall after para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar had opened the campaign with a bronze in the men’s heavyweight event.

The 31-year-old showed her trademark resilience after missing her opening attempts in both the snatch and clean and jerk before bouncing back to finish a commanding 22kg ahead of Nigeria’s Ruth Asuquo Nyong, who settled for silver with 168kg. With the title already wrapped up and the Asian Games just weeks away, Mirabai skipped her final clean and jerk attempt after already setting new Games records in both the discipline and overall total.

Earlier in the day, Rishikanta Singh added India’s second medal by claiming silver in the men’s 60kg competition.

The Manipuri lifter equalled the Commonwealth Games snatch record with a 121kg effort and held the lead heading into the clean and jerk. However, two unsuccessful lifts meant he finished with 264kg overall, falling short of gold but creating history as the first male weightlifter from Manipur to win a Commonwealth Games medal.

India’s impressive day on the platform continued when Raja Muthupandi secured silver in the men’s 65kg event. He registered lifts of 126kg in the snatch and 160kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 286kg.

Malaysia’s Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin claimed gold with a Games record total of 299kg, while Papua New Guinea’s Morea Baru rounded off the podium with 282kg.

PREETI, JADUMANI EDGE CLOSE TO MEDAL

India’s boxing team maintained its impressive momentum, with Jadumani Singh Mandengbam producing one of the standout performances of the day by defeating Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman 5-0 in the men’s 55kg Round of 16.

The much-anticipated India-Pakistan contest lived up to expectations, with a charged atmosphere inside the arena. Jadumani weathered an aggressive opening from his opponent before settling into his rhythm and landing the cleaner punches to take control of the contest.

Once ahead on the scorecards, the Indian boxer boxed with composure and discipline, using his movement and precision to shut out any hopes of a comeback as he earned a unanimous verdict from all five judges.

Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar also impressed, forcing a second-round stoppage against Malawi’s Deborah Mtenje in the women’s 54kg Round of 16.

The 22-year-old dominated from the opening bell, winning the first round unanimously before twice forcing standing counts. With Mtenje unable to cope with the relentless pressure, the referee called off the contest with 47 seconds left in the second round.

Preeti now stands one victory away from guaranteeing herself a Commonwealth Games medal and will next face Northern Ireland’s Nicole Clyde in the quarterfinals.

DISAPPOINTMENT IN LAWN BOWLS

It was a frustrating outing for India on the greens as both the women’s pairs team and Putul Sonowal saw their campaigns suffer setbacks.

Pinki Singh and Rupa Rani Tirkey narrowly missed out on a semifinal berth after losing a dramatic tie-break to England in their final Group B fixture. After both teams claimed a set each, England held its nerve in the deciding end to seal a 1-1 (3-4, 10-3) result and end India’s hopes.

In the men’s singles, Putul Sonowal went down 0.5-1.5 to Malta’s Shaun James Parnis in his penultimate Group D encounter. He remains third in the standings and will wrap up his campaign against Kenya’s Anwar Hamada.

MOHANTY FINISHES 15TH, INDIA LOSE AGAIN IN 3X3 WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL

Tapan Mohanty wrapped up his artistic gymnastics campaign with a respectable 15th-place finish in the men’s all-around final after collecting 70.100 points across six apparatus.

His strongest routine came on the vault, where he scored 12.700, while he also impressed on the parallel bars with 12.450. Mohanty displayed consistency throughout the competition despite finishing outside the medal positions.

Meanwhile, India’s women’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball team suffered its second straight defeat of the tournament, going down 21-4 against Scotland.

ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING DAY IN SWIMMING

India’s men’s 4x200m freestyle relay team showed promise by reaching the final after finishing third in Heat 2 with a time of 7:39.48, comfortably advancing among the eight fastest teams.

The quartet of Dhakshan Shashikumar, Aneesh Sunil Kumar Gowda, Aryan Nehra and Srihari Nataraj, however, could not replicate that performance in the medal race. Australia, England and Wales quickly pulled clear, leaving India to battle in the lower half of the standings.

The Indian quartet eventually finished sixth with a time of 7:29.84 after strong closing legs from Aryan Nehra and Srihari Nataraj.

India will now look to build on its encouraging weightlifting performances as three more medal events await, with several leading contenders set to take the stage.

– Ends

Published On:

Jul 27, 2026 02:49 IST



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