BLURB
Mirabai Chanu won her maiden Asian Games medal, lifting 198kg for silver in the women’s 49kg category at Aichi-Nagoya.
AICHI-NAGOYA
Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu secured silver in the women’s 49kg category at the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, completing a medal collection that includes Olympic and Commonwealth Games honours.
Chanu lifted a combined 198kg, successfully completing all three snatch attempts at 83kg, 85kg and 87kg. She then lifted 107kg in her opening clean and jerk attempt before clearing 111kg in her second attempt.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with 215kg, while Wijayana claimed bronze.
The medal marked Chanu’s maiden podium finish at the Asian Games. She had missed out on a medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Games after an injury forced her to withdraw from her final clean and jerk attempt, leaving her fourth.
The 32-year-old now becomes only the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleshwari to win medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships.
Chanu’s career includes Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, three Commonwealth Games gold medals and multiple World and Asian Championship medals. Her breakthrough came at the 2017 World Championships, where she won gold.
Born in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur, Chanu began formal weightlifting training in 2008. She later trained at the National Institute of Sports in Patiala under coach Vijay Sharma.
Away from competition, Chanu serves as Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) in Manipur Police and is involved in promoting weightlifting among young girls through the Weightlifting Warriors Academy in Uttar Pradesh.