Mirabai’s Mighty Medal
Forde
Indian weightlifter and Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu added another feather to her career by winning silver in the 49kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships 2025. This marks her third medal at the world stage, and her second silver after her earlier success in 2022.
Chanu, who returned strongly after Paris 2024 by winning gold at the Commonwealth Championships in August, recorded a total lift of 199kg—84kg in snatch and 115kg in clean and jerk. Although her attempts at 87kg in snatch failed, she found her rhythm in clean and jerk, completing all three lifts. Her final successful lift of 115kg equaled her Tokyo Olympic effort from four years ago.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won the gold medal with a record-breaking 213kg (91kg snatch + 122kg clean and jerk). Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoen secured bronze with a 198kg total. Ri’s performance set new world records in both total weight and clean and jerk.
For Chanu, this silver medal is another highlight in a career filled with achievements. She had earlier won gold at the 2017 World Championships in Anaheim and silver in Bogota in 2022.
India has sent a 14-member team to this year’s World Championships, which runs until October 11 and also serves as a qualifier for the upcoming Commonwealth Games. Alongside Mirabai, women lifters like Koyel Bar, Bindyarani Devi, Nirupama Devi, Harjinder Kaur, Vanshita Verma, and Mehak Sharma will compete. Many of them shone at the Commonwealth Championships earlier this year, securing multiple silver and bronze medals.
In the men’s section, the squad is led by Lovepreet Singh, a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist.
