Manipur CM N Biren Singh announced a cash award of Rs 15 lakhs each to Manipuri weightlifters – Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu who won gold medals in the ongoing 21stCommonwealth Games (CWG) 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.
N Biren Singh made the announcement while addressing the 38th foundation day celebration of the Bharatiya Janata Party at its state unit office on Friday.
K Sanjita Chanu finished first in the women’s 53 kg weightlifting finals on the second day of the Games in Gold Coast on Friday. Defending champion Loa Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea was a distant second with 182 kg while New Zealand’s Rachel Leblanc-Bazinet took bronze with 181 kg.
24-year-old Sanjita had also won gold in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in the women’s 48 kg category. This is India’s third medal in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The CM tweeted, “Wow! We have done it again! Congratulations Sanjita Chanu, proud of you for making Manipur proud and India proud! You really are a great Manipuri Meitei Ningols (Manipuri Meitei daughters).Both you and Mirabai Chanu makes us really proud.”
On Thursday Saikhom Mirabai (23) weightlifter from Manipur bagged country’s first gold medal in weightlifting competition on the day one of CWG on Thursday by smashing the CWG records in 48 kg category snatch, clean and jerk and overall en route to her gold-medal winning performance.
Lok Sabha MP from Dr Th Meinya also congratulated both Weightlifters-Saikhom Mirabai and Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu for winning gold Medals for the Country in the ongoing CWG at Gold Coast, Australia.
Though Mirabai’s family and friends and celebrated at their Nongpok Kakching village in Imphal East district on Thursday for winning gold medal, the family and relatives of Sanjita continued to celebrate the victory of Sanjita at their house at Thongju under Imphal West district on Friday.