Olympic medallist and three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mirabai Chanu clinched her maiden Asian Games medal after winning silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting category at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday.
After Karnam Malleshwari, Mirabai Chanu became the 2nd Indian weightlifter to win a medal in all major international weightlifting events, i.e. Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian & Commonwealth Championships.
Chanu produced a strong performance in the competition, recording a total lift of 198kg. She completed all three of her snatch attempts successfully, lifting 83kg, 85kg and 87kg.
In the clean and jerk segment, the Indian weightlifter opened with a 107kg lift before successfully completing her second attempt of 111kg to finish with a combined total of 198kg.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum claimed the gold medal after dominating the event with a total lift of 215kg, while Chanu secured silver with her effort. Wijayana finished with the bronze medal.
The medal marked a historic achievement for Chanu, who had missed out on a podium finish at the Hangzhou Asian Games 2023 after an injury forced her to withdraw from her final clean and jerk attempt, resulting in a fourth-place finish.
Chanu, a Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist, entered the competition after winning gold at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games and added another major medal to her illustrious career.
The silver medal also added to India’s medal tally at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games as the country continued its campaign across multiple disciplines.
