Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu (born 2 January 1994) is an Indian weightlifter. Born in Kakching Khunou, Kakching district, Manipur, she is a two time Commonwealth Games Champion. Chanu won the gold medals at the 2014 Glasgow and the 2018 Gold Coast events in the women's 48 kg and 53 kg weight category respectively. She holds the Commonwealth Games record of 84 kg for the Snatch segment in the latter weight category.
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Indian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 2 January 1994 Kakching Khunou, Kakching district, Manipur, India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) (2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 48 kg (106 lb) (2014) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event | 53 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 28 January 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Background
editShe was born to a Hindu Meitei family. Sanjita took up the sport weightlifting in 2006 in Manipur. She considers pioneering weightlifter and fellow Manipuri, Kunjarani Devi, her hero.[1]
Career
edit2014 Commonwealth Games
editKhumukcham Sanjita Chanu won a gold in women's 48kg weightlifting at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; it was India's first medal on the second day of the competition. She started with an attempt at 72 kg and later lifted 77 kg, not dropping any weight in snatch. Chanu took an unassailable lead with a 96 kg lift in the clean and jerk event to secure the gold medal with a total weight of 173 kg.[2][3] Chanu's total of 173 kg missed the Games record (held by the 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Augustina Nkem Nwaokolo) by two kilograms. However, her 77 kg lift in the snatch segment equalled Nwaokolo's Commonwealth Games record.[4]
2018 Commonwealth Games
editChanu won her second successive gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 2018 edition held in Gold Coast, Australia. She had moved to a higher weight category of 53 kg and secured the title with a total lift of 192 kg, 10 kg more than second-placed Dika Toua.[5] En route to her gold medal, she bettered her performance from 2014 Commonwealth Games and broke the Games record for the snatch category with a lift of 84 kg; she lifted a weight of 108 kg in the clean and jerk segment.[6]
Doping bans
editOn 30 May, Chanu was provisionally suspended by the IWF after testing positive for testosterone.[7] In 2020 she was cleared after the charge was dropped.[8]
In 2023, she received a four-year ban after testing positive for a banned substance.[9][10]
References
edit- ^ "'Sanjita Khumukcham profile'". Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Associated Press". The Times of India. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
Sanjita Chanu wins Gold
- ^ "Sanjita Chanu Wins Gold Medal for India In Weightlifting". India Today. 24 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
CWG 2014
- ^ "Glasgow 2014: India bag 7 medals on day 1, Sanjita won gold". Patrika Group. No. 25 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Khumukcham claims another gold for India". Gold Coast Games 2018. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "India at CWG, Day 2: Sanjita Chanu wins weightlifting gold, Deepak Lather bronze". The Times of India. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "PUBLIC DISCLOSURE - International Weightlifting Federation". International Weightlifting Federation. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Going to try and get Khel Ratna Award now: Weightlifter Sanjita Chanu after IWF lifts doping ban". indiatoday.in. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Lloyd, Owen (4 April 2023). "Indian Commonwealth Games champion receives four-year ban after doping positive". Retrieved 6 April 2023.
- ^ "Weightlifter Sanjita Chanu handed four-year ban by NADA for failed dope test". Olympics.com. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.