Mirabai Chanu — Asian Games 2026

Mirabai Chanu — Asian Games 2026
India’s Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49 kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with a total lift of 198 kg (87 kg snatch + 111 kg clean and jerk).
•    First Asian Games Podium: This was Chanu’s maiden Asian Games podium finish and India’s 15th Asian Games medal in weightlifting. It was also India’s first weightlifting podium at the Asian Games in 28 years, after Karnam Malleswari won silver in the women’s 63 kg division at Bangkok 1998.
•    Gold Medal: Ri Song-gum of DPR Korea won gold with a world-record total of 215 kg (94 kg + 121 kg). Both her snatch and clean-and-jerk efforts were also new world records in the weight class. It was her third consecutive Asian Games gold.
•    Bronze Medal: Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana won bronze with a total of 191 kg (88 kg + 103 kg). She led Chanu after the snatch, but Chanu overtook her through the clean and jerk.
•    Successful Lifts: Chanu successfully completed all three of her snatch attempts at 83 kg, 85 kg and 87 kg. In the clean and jerk, she lifted 107 kg and 111 kg and did not attempt a third lift.
•    Long-Pursued Medal: The Asian Games was the only major international meet where Chanu had not previously stood on the podium. Before Nagoya, she had already won medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Games.
•    Previous Setback: At the Hangzhou 2023 Asian Games, Chanu finished fourth after suffering a hip injury during her final clean-and-jerk attempt. She had also missed the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games due to injury.
•    Weight-Class Focus: After the lightest Olympic weight division moved to 53 kg, Chanu chose to focus on securing a podium finish at the Aichi-Nagoya Games.
•    Indian Contingent: India sent a four-member weightlifting contingent to the 2026 Asian Games. Gyaneshwari Yadav finished eighth in the women’s 53 kg category with 195 kg (87 kg + 108 kg), while Seram Nirupama Devi (61 kg) and Harjinder Kaur (69 kg) were the other Indian lifters in contention.