Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting ends India’s 28-year Asian Games weightlifting medal drought.
She lifted a total of 198kg on September 23 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
It is her first Asian Games medal, having narrowly missed the podium in 2023.
Gold went to North Korea’s Ri Song-gum with a world record total of 215kg.
India’s overall medal tally at these Games continues to grow.
The Asian Games 2026 are being held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to October 4.
India’s medal tally at the Games has been rising steadily through the shooting, hockey, cricket and now weightlifting events.
Chanu has previously won an Olympic silver, a Commonwealth Games gold and multiple World Championship medals in her career.
The 49kg category is one of the lighter weight classes in women’s Olympic weightlifting.
Weightlifting competitions score athletes on the combined total of their best snatch and clean-and-jerk lifts.
India’s weightlifting federation has focused on strengthening its junior and youth pipelines in recent years.
The Asian Games weightlifting competition features multiple weight categories for both men and women.
Chanu’s Olympic silver came at the Tokyo 2020 Games in the same 49kg category.
Indian weightlifters have historically found the Asian Games a tougher stage than the Commonwealth Games, given the strength of East Asian competitors.
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Asian Games 2026 on September 23.
It is India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal in 28 years.
Chanu lifted a total of 198kg, made up of 87kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk.
The event was held at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan.
It is Chanu’s first Asian Games medal, though she is a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist.
Gold went to North Korea’s Ri Song-gum, the reigning world champion and two-time defending Asian Games champion.
Weightlifting competition (representative image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
