Bindyarani Devi is an Indian weightlifter who won the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Birmingham) in the women’s 55kg category with an overall lift of 202kg, with 86kg snatch and 116kg clean and jerk.
Wiki/Biography
Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam was born on Wednesday, 27 January 1999 (age 23 years; as of 2022), and she lives in Langol Ningthou Leikai in Imphal West, Manipur. She started her journey in sports as a Taekwondo player and competed in Taekwondo competitions from 2008 to 2012. However, when she gave up Taekwondo and started weightlifting in 2013 after recognising that her short height was ideal for the sport. Like her fellow Manipuri weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who is known for winning the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the Women’s 49 kg category, she started training at the SAI North Eastern Regional Centre in Imphal. After three years, she was selected for training at the National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) Imphal. She first competed in weightlifting at the 2016 IWLF Youth Nationals (Bhubaneswar) in the 53kg category. Later, at the national weightlifting camp in Patiala, she trained under Vijay Sharma.
Physical Appearance
Height: 4′ 9″
Weight: 55 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Bindyarani Devi belongs to a Manipuri family. Her father, Sorokhaibam Rajen Singh, is a farmer and runs a grocery shop. Her mother, S. Ibemcha Devi, is a priest and works as a house help in their neighbourhood in Imphal. She has two siblings. Her elder brother’s name is Sorokhaibam Suraj Singh.
From left to right, Bindyarani Devi’s father, mother, and brother
Husband & Children
Bindyarani Devi is unmarried. (as of 2022)
Medals
Gold
- 2016 IWLF Youth Nationals (Bhubaneswar) with a total weight of 151kg (65kg Snatch+ 86kg clean and jerk)
- 2019 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships (Apia), with a total weight of 183kg (78kg Snatch +105kg clean-and-jerk)
- 2019 Khelo India Youth Games U-21 (Pune) in 55kg category with a total weight of 179kg
- 2021 World Weightlifting Championships (Tashkent) with 114kg clean and jerk in the 55kg women’s category
- 2022 Khelo India Women League Competition (Nagrota Bagwan)
- 2021 IWLF Youth, Junior & Senior National Weightlifting Championships (Patiala) in 55kg category with a total lift of 185kg (78kg Snatch + 107kg clean and jerk)
Silver
- 2016 Commonwealth Junior Championships
- 2019 IWLF Senior National Weightlifting Championships (Visakhapatnam) with a total weight of 172kg
- 2021 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships (Uzbekistan)
- 2022 Commonwealth Games (Birmingham) in the women’s 55kg category with a total weight of 202kg (86kg Snatch +116kg clean and jerk)
Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye (center) silver medalist India’s Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam (left) and bronze medalist England’s Fraer Morrow (right) on the podium at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
Bronze
- 2018 Senior Nationals (Moodbidri) in the 53 kg category with a total weight of 178 kg
Facts/Trivia
- Due to her same trajectory in the field of weightlifting, she is often compared to her fellow Manipuri Mirabai Chanu and is also referred to as Mirabai 2.0.
- Although numerous media houses deem Mirabai Chanu as Bindyarani’s idol, she revealed that she grew up idolising Kunjarani Devi. Hailing from Imphal, Kunjarani Devi is the most decorated Indian sportswoman in weightlifting. In an interview, Bindyarani Devi said,
Though we come from the same state and from nearby towns around Imphal, I have no relationship with Mirabai Chanu. I did not follow her into weightlifting. I was inspired by Kunjarani Devi.” - When Bindyarani Devi first arrived at the national camp in NIS Patiala in 2019, she did have a pair of weightlifting shoes. Thereafter, Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu came forward to aid her and gifted her training shoes.