India's Olympic silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has declared she is ready to deliver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, expressing confidence in the Indian weightlifting squad while acknowledging a reduced competition field at this edition. Speaking on the sidelines of the Games on 23 July, the 30-year-old Manipuri lifter said the team has trained hard and is focused on bringing home medals.

Chanu's Message to India

'There is a lot of expectation this time that weightlifting will win more medals. We will give it our best, and we are working very hard. Our team is performing well. Whether we win medals or not will only be known on the day of the event, but we will give our full effort. I, too, will do my very best,' Mirabai said.

The statement reflects the weight of expectation on Indian weightlifters, a discipline that has become one of the country's most reliable medal sources at the Commonwealth Games over the past decade.

Concern Over Smaller Field

Despite her optimism, Mirabai flagged a structural concern about this edition — a notably smaller pool of competing athletes in weightlifting. 'It is great to see so many participants from different places this time. One bad thing is that the number of athletes is less. For this, it is not good for the sport. On one hand, it is not good. But whoever has come to participate, we will do our best for India,' she added.

A thinner field, while potentially easing the path to medals, raises questions about the competitive depth of the event — a tension Mirabai acknowledged candidly.

Paris 2024 Disappointment and the Injury Behind It

Mirabai will be carrying the memory of a painful Paris 2024 Olympics campaign, where she finished fourth in the women's 49kg category — agonisingly outside the medals. She has now revealed that an injury severely hampered her preparations leading into Paris.

'While preparing for the Olympics, I was unable to handle heavy training loads. Whenever I increased the load, I had to stop training because of the pain. My injury had not fully recovered, so I could not give my maximum effort. As a result, I trained much less than I had planned, and that is probably why I could not deliver the performance,' she said.

The disclosure adds important context to what appeared, from the outside, to be an underperformance. Mirabai, by her own account, went into the Paris Games physically compromised.

A Commonwealth Games Record That Speaks for Itself

The Glasgow 2026 campaign gives Mirabai a chance to rewrite her recent narrative. Her Commonwealth Games record is exceptional: a silver on debut at Glasgow 2014, a record-breaking gold at Gold Coast 2018, and a successfully defended gold at Birmingham 2022. That run makes her one of the most decorated Indian weightlifters in Commonwealth Games history.

The defining peak of her career remains the Tokyo Olympics 2020, where her silver in the women's 49kg ended India's 21-year wait for an Olympic weightlifting medal. Hailing from the village of Nongpok Kakching in Manipur, she has become a symbol of sporting perseverance for the country.

What to Watch

Now reportedly fully fit, Mirabai enters the 2026 Commonwealth Games as India's most experienced weightlifter and a strong medal contender. The event will serve as a barometer of her recovery and form ahead of the next Olympic cycle. A fourth Commonwealth Games medal would further cement her standing as an all-time great of Indian sport.