India’s Commonwealth Games medallists, led by Olympic champion Mirabai Chanu and weightlifter Lovepreet Singh, received a rousing welcome on their return home on Sunday as hundreds of fans gathered at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi to celebrate their achievements.
Mirabai continued her dominance on the Commonwealth stage by winning a third successive gold medal in the women’s 49kg category, adding another landmark to her decorated career.
“Coming from Manipur, I feel really proud that I have done something good for my country,” Mirabai said after arriving in Delhi.
Lovepreet, who won silver in the men’s +110kg category after missing gold by just one kilogram, said his focus has already shifted to next year’s Asian Games in Japan.
“I would like to thank my Indian Navy staff and captain Vijay Kumar, and all who have come,” said the 28-year-old from Punjab, who lifted a total of 388kg, including a Commonwealth Games record of 176kg in the snatch.
“It happens, but I did my hard work and I have got the result for that. When two players fight, one has to lose. Up next, I will prepare well for the Asian Games,” he added.
Bronze medallist Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam, who finished on the podium in the women’s 58kg event, thanked fans for the warm reception and vowed to work harder ahead of future competitions.
“Everyone has welcomed us like this, so it feels great. Thank you all for making us feel at home,” Bindyarani said.
“I’ll train even harder than I have so far for the upcoming competitions.”
Silver medallist Rishikanta Singh, who finished second in the men’s 60kg category, promised to return stronger and target gold in the future.
“Feeling good that I have got a medal for India. I’ve already spoken about my performance, but I’ll come back stronger and perform even better,” he said.
The Imphal-born weightlifter also made an emotional appeal for peace in Manipur, saying stability in the state would help nurture more sporting talent.
“For me, both Navy and Meitei are equal. I would want to say this that we need peace in Manipur so that Manipur could produce more athletes even better than me,” he said.
India’s weightlifting contingent finished its Commonwealth Games campaign with eight medals — one gold, six silver and one bronze.
Chief national coach Vijay Sharma praised the team’s overall performance and highlighted areas for improvement ahead of the Asian Games.
“We feel very proud as we have received this reception here. Everybody is very happy. I am really very happy with the performance of my players,” Sharma said.
“There are some areas where we fell short, and we can work on them to change the colour of our medal from silver to gold. But that happens in sports. Overall, the results are good. We are happy.”
The coach also hailed Mirabai’s consistency at the highest level. “Mirabai is an exceptional player. With her discipline, she is able to deliver these results. We are preparing for the Asian Games, and I think we will win that medal as well,” Sharma said.
India are currently fourth in the Commonwealth Games medal standings with 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze medals, taking their overall tally to 39.
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