All eyes will be on him when the Commonwealth Games weightlifting competition begins in Glasgow on Sunday To Mirabai Chen She won the platform title in the women’s 48kg category and is hoping to win her third consecutive Commonwealth Games title.Mirabhai has been one of India’s most consistent performers across sports and the entire country is hoping the Manipur star can deliver another memorable performance as he recovers from a career-threatening injury. This time, however, she won’t be the state’s only hope for a medal.Five members of the Indian weightlifting team hail from Manipur, underlining the state’s remarkable dominance in the sport. Senior coach S Brojendro Singh will be watching their progress with great pride, having played a key role in the early development of all five, including Mirabhai.
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“It is a matter of great pride for me. I was the coach of the five of them when they first started weightlifting. It gives me great satisfaction to now see them representing India at the Commonwealth Games,” Brojandro, who has been coaching at the State Sports Institute since 2004, told STOI.Brojandro believes discipline, dedication, sacrifice and unwavering commitment are at the core of Manipur’s weightlifting success, but says Mirabhai’s achievement transformed the sport in the state.“Meerabai inspired an entire generation. When people saw what she had achieved, many young people started lifting weights believing they too could reach that level. She showed them it was possible,” he said.One of those inspired by Mirabai is 2025 Commonwealth Championships silver medalist Nirupama Devi, who will make her CWG debut in the women’s 63kg category. Although she secured a spot at the National Youth Camp in 2016, things did not go as planned after 2019.“Due to injury, illness and the impact of Covid-19, I pulled out of the national camp. But I have been working hard and now my focus is just to do my best in the CWG,” Nirupama said.She is currently training under national chief coach Vijay Sharma in Modi Nagar and won a silver medal in the 217kg category at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships. Nirupama said apart from her coaching, Mirabhai also played an important role in her development.“Mirabhai Didi always guided us. Whenever we didn’t understand something, she patiently explained and motivated us. She has always been very supportive,” she said.Another major medal hope is youngster Martina Devi, who will compete in the women’s over-86kg category. After recovering from an ACL injury, she had a breakout 2026 season, winning national junior and senior titles.Bindyarani Devi won a silver medal in the women’s 55kg category at the CWG in Birmingham and has since moved up to the 58kg category. Rishikanta Singh, who nearly finished on the podium in Birmingham, also switched categories to 60kg and headed to Glasgow after winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships.Meanwhile, the entire Indian weightlifting team has completed the final stages of preparations at the University of Wolverhampton’s Walsall campus, where they trained from June 29 to last week before heading to Glasgow.Training camps are expected to play a key role as weightlifters will reach their peak at the right time in the coming days. For Brojandro, however, medals only tell part of the story. He said watching five weightlifters who started their career under his guidance represent India at the Commonwealth Games was the biggest reward of his coaching career.
