On 26 July 2026, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu stood on the top step of the podium in Glasgow, a gold medal around her neck. In the women’s 48 kg weightlifting event she lifted a total of 190 kg — 85 kg in the snatch and 105 kg in the clean and jerk — to win her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold and hand India its first gold medal of the Glasgow Games. Two months later she added the one medal that had eluded her, a silver at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, before a back sprain forced her out of the World Championships in Ningbo on 29 October 2026. At 32, she is managing that injury with one target in mind: the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
| Full Name | Saikhom Mirabai Chanu |
| Age | 32 years old (as of November 2026) |
| Date of Birth | 8 August 1994 |
| Height | 4 ft 11 in (150 cm) — some profiles list 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) |
| Birthplace | Nongpok Kakching, Imphal East, Manipur, India |
| Occupation | Weightlifter |
| Known For | Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020; three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals (2018, 2022, 2026) |
| Net Worth 2026 | Estimated ₹55–60 crore (media reports; no official figure) |
Early Life
Mirabai Chanu Saikhom was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, a village in the Imphal East district of Manipur, to Saikhom Ongbi Tombi Leima and Saikhom Kriti Meitei. She is the youngest of six siblings. She has identified herself as a follower of Sanamahism, the Meitei people’s traditional faith.
Her childhood was modest and physically demanding. She was carrying bundles of firewood at the age of 12 that her elder brothers struggled to lift, and she began formal training at the sports academy in the Khuman Lampak stadium complex in Imphal, often hitching rides with sand trucks to reach practice.
Career
Mirabai Chanu’s first major medal came at the 2013 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Penang, where she won gold in the 48 kg class with a total of 166 kg. A year later she took silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics but left without a result, failing all three clean and jerk attempts.
The comeback was swift. On 30 November 2017 she won the World Championships in Anaheim with a competition-record total of 194 kg, a first for India in 22 years. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast she won gold with 196 kg, setting Games records in all three categories. In April 2021, at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, she set a world record in the clean and jerk with a lift of 119 kg.
Her defining moment came at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, held in 2021, where she won silver in the women’s 49 kg event with a total of 202 kg. She became only the second Indian weightlifter, after Karnam Malleswari, to win an Olympic medal, and the second Indian woman after PV Sindhu to win an Olympic silver. She then won a second Commonwealth Games gold at Birmingham 2022 with 201 kg, and a silver at the 2022 World Championships in Bogota. At the Paris 2024 Olympics she finished fourth with 199 kg, missing bronze by a single kilogram.
The 2026 season brought both a peak and a pause. In July she won her third straight Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, lifting 190 kg with Games records in the snatch (85 kg), clean and jerk (105 kg) and total. In September she won silver at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya with 198 kg — India’s first weightlifting medal at the Asian Games in 28 years. Her planned debut in the new 53 kg division, her class for the Los Angeles 2028 cycle, was then delayed when she withdrew from the World Championships in Ningbo on 29 October 2026 with a back sprain suffered in warm-up.
Personal Life
Mirabai Chanu is unmarried and has not publicly confirmed a relationship; reports about her personal life consistently describe her as single and focused on her sport and her family.
Outside the platform, she holds an honorary appointment as Additional Superintendent of Police in the Manipur Police, a post she took up in January 2022, and she previously worked with the Indian Railways. She was elected chairperson of the Indian Weightlifting Federation’s athletes commission in April 2025, and in November 2026 she was elected unopposed to the Indian Olympic Association’s Athletes’ Commission.
Awards and Honours
Mirabai Chanu’s honours include the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, and the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour — both awarded in 2018. Her medal record spans three Commonwealth Games golds, a world title, an Olympic silver and an Asian Games silver. After the Tokyo silver, the Ministry of Railways announced a cash reward of ₹2 crore and the Government of Manipur awarded ₹1 crore, plus further rewards from the Government of India, the Indian Olympic Association, BYJU’S and the BCCI.
Mirabai Chanu Net Worth 2026
Mirabai Chanu net worth in 2026 is estimated at around ₹55–60 crore, according to Indian media reports published around her Commonwealth Games win in July 2026, including BollywoodShaadis and the Sunday Guardian. No official or audited figure has ever been published, so the number should be treated as an estimate.
Her income comes from government cash rewards for medals, her police appointment, and brand endorsements. The Sunday Guardian reported that she earns around ₹1–1.3 crore a year from brand partnerships, with Adidas India and Domino’s Pizza among them. Like fellow Olympic medallists Mary Kom and Lovlina Borgohain, she has turned sporting success into a profile that extends well beyond the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Mirabai Chanu?
Mirabai Chanu was born on 8 August 1994 in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur, making her 32 years old as of November 2026.
How tall is Mirabai Chanu?
She is listed at 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) on her Wikipedia profile, though some portals list 155 cm (5 ft 1 in). No official measurement has been published.
Is Mirabai Chanu married?
No. Mirabai Chanu is unmarried and has not publicly confirmed a husband or a relationship.
What is Mirabai Chanu net worth in 2026?
Indian media reports from July 2026 estimate her net worth at around ₹55–60 crore (approximately $6–7 million). No official figure has been published, so this is an estimate.
What did Mirabai Chanu lift to win gold at the Commonwealth Games 2026?
She won the women’s 48 kg gold in Glasgow on 26 July 2026 with a total of 190 kg — 85 kg in the snatch, a new Games record, and 105 kg in the clean and jerk. It was her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold and India’s first gold of the Games.
What happened to Mirabai Chanu at the World Championships 2026?
She withdrew from the women’s 53 kg event in Ningbo on 29 October 2026 after suffering a back sprain during warm-up, as reported by Sportstar and PTI. It delayed her debut in the 53 kg class, the division she has moved to for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle.
