When the weightlifting competition at the Commonwealth Games begins in Glasgow on Sunday, all eyes will be on him To Mirabai Chan as she takes the podium in the women’s 48kg category, she is looking to make it three Commonwealth Games in a row.Mirabai has become one of India’s best performers in the entire game, and the country is hoping for another memorable performance from the Manipuri star as she returns from a grueling injury. However, this time it will not be the only state medal.Five members of the Indian weightlifting team are from Manipur, which shows the state’s incredible dominance in the sport. Watching their progress with pride will be former coach S Brojendro Singh, who was instrumental in the early development of all the five, including Mirabai.
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“It’s a matter of great pride for me. I trained all five of them when they started lifting weights. Seeing them now representing India at the Commonwealth Games is a great satisfaction,” Brojendro, who has been teaching at the state sports school since 2004, told STOI.While Brojendro believes that discipline, dedication, commitment and unwavering commitment have been key to Manipur’s success in weightlifting, he says Mirabai’s achievements changed the game in the state.“Mirabai inspired an entire generation. When people saw what she achieved, many young people started lifting weights believing that they too could reach such a level. She showed them that it was possible,” he said.Among Mirabai’s inspirations is Nirupama Devi, a silver medalist at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships, who will make her CWG debut in the women’s 63kg category. Although he earned a place in the youth camp in 2016, things did not go as planned for 2019.“It was injuries, illness and the Covid-19 time off, that made me leave the national camp. But I worked hard and now my focus is just to give my best to the CWG,” said Nirupama.Now training under national head coach Vijay Sharma in Modinagar, she has shown that she has returned with a silver medal at 217kg at the 2025 Commonwealth Games. Apart from her teachers, Nirupama says Mirabai also played a big role in her development.“Mirabai didi always guides us. Whenever we don’t understand something, she patiently explains it to us and encourages us. She has been a great help,” he said.Another big medal hope is young Martina Devi, who will compete in the +86kg women’s category. After recovering from an ACL injury, he enjoyed a successful 2026 season, winning both the junior and senior titles.Bindyarani Devi, who won silver in the women’s 55kg category at the Birmingham CWG, has moved up to the 58kg category. Rishikanta Singh, who narrowly missed out on the podium in Birmingham, also switched categories to 60kg and heads to Glasgow after winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships.The entire Indian weightlifting team, meanwhile, completed its final phase of preparation at the University of Wolverhampton’s Walsall Campus, where they trained from June 29 until last week before traveling to Glasgow.The players are expected to play a major role as the riders look to reach their peak at the right time in the coming days. For Brojendro, however, the medals will only tell part of the story. Seeing the five lifters who started their journeys under his guidance represent India at the Commonwealth Games, he says, is the biggest reward in his coaching career.