Rishikanta Singh Chanambam lifted a combined 264kg (121kg snatch and 143kg clean and jerk) to clinch the silver medal in the men's 60kg weightlifting category at the Commonwealth Games 2026. For a very long time, it looked like he was on course to win a historic gold medal but he missed out after failing to lift 151kg in his final attempt. While the whole country was left jubilant over the achievement, the story behind the medal was truly inspiring. During his teenage years, Rishikanta abandoned weightlifting and worked as a daily wage labourer at a construction site.
"I had stopped most of my contact with my friends in the weightlifting community. It was as if my dream of being a top weightlifter and my future in the sport was over. I took whatever job I could. At that time I was just thinking where I would go to work next," he said in an interview with Sportstar.
He won the national youth title in 2016 and even won a bronze at the Junior Commonwealth Championships in 2017. However, with his family struggling financially, he chose to leave weightlifting and try his hand at other jobs.
"I probably made between Rs 150 and Rs 200 a day. Even if I wasn't supporting my brother, it's not possible to get a good diet with milk and eggs at Rs 200 a day. I wasn't even sure I'd make that much in a day. I was just eating whatever was at home, and sometimes that meant skipping breakfast or dinner," he said.
However, it all changed when he was offered a place at the Weightlifting Centre of Excellence in Takyel. He was able to concentrate on the sport once again and within a year, he went on to win his first senior national title.
He won gold in the men's 60kg category at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad in 2025.
Though he missed out on gold, Rishikanta remained thankful to all those people who contributed towards his journey, especially his coach.
"I take my Guru's name, Vijay Sharma, under whom I train, the Indian Chief Coach. He taught us a lot about how to compete and how to train. I had no doubts about my training. I was completely focused... first, I dedicate this to our Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he has given a lot of benefits to our sports," he said.
Source: ANI