BJP MP Anurag Thakur, former Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, on Sunday, 26 July 2026, celebrated Mirabai Chanu's gold medal win in the Women's 48 kg Weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2026 (CWG 2026), calling it the beginning of 'The Gold Saga' for India.

Thakur noted that Chanu has become India's first weightlifter to win a hat-trick of gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, praising her 'unwavering dedication and commitment to the sport' for continuing to make the country proud.

Context

Mirabai Chanu has long been one of India's most celebrated athletes in non-cricket disciplines. She claimed gold in the Women's 48 kg category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and has since remained a dominant force in her weight class on the international circuit. Her silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics brought her widespread national recognition and cemented her status as a flagship figure of Indian sports.

The CWG 2026 gold adds another landmark to her career, with Thakur's post framing it as the opening chapter of what he hopes will be a broader medal haul for the Indian contingent at the Games.

Policy Backdrop

Chanu's rise has coincided with a sustained push by successive governments to invest in elite athlete development. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), launched in 2014, provides financial support, specialised coaching, and access to international training camps for athletes in Olympic-priority disciplines — weightlifting being a key beneficiary.

India has steadily scaled up spending on sports science and infrastructure over the past decade, with the aim of raising medal tallies at multi-sport events and reducing the country's historical dependence on cricket as the sole vehicle of sporting pride. Chanu's repeated podium finishes are frequently cited as evidence of this policy's effectiveness.

Stakeholders and Impact

Anurag Thakur, who served as Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports before the 2024 general elections, has consistently used his platform to amplify the achievements of Indian athletes, particularly in Olympic disciplines. His post is consistent with a broader political pattern of using athlete success to signal national progress under government-backed sports development frameworks.

For the Indian weightlifting community and the broader sports contingent at CWG 2026, Chanu's gold in the opening days of the Games sets an early positive tone. A hat-trick of Commonwealth gold medals would place her in rare company in the history of Indian sport, inspiring the next generation of weightlifters and reinforcing the case for continued public investment in the discipline.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to India's overall medal tally as the CWG 2026 progresses, with the Sports Ministry and athletes' support bodies expected to review the performance of TOPS-backed competitors. Chanu's achievement is likely to renew calls for enhanced long-term funding for weightlifting infrastructure and grassroots talent identification programmes.

For Chanu herself, a hat-trick of Commonwealth gold medals could strengthen her position as the standard-bearer for Indian weightlifting ahead of future Olympic cycles, with national selectors and coaches watching her form closely as the sport's global calendar continues.