Twenty-eight years after India last stood on the Asian Games weightlifting podium, Mirabai Chanu has brought the sport back into the spotlight with a historic silver medal in the women’s 49kg category.
Chanu’s achievement at the Asian Games 2026 marks her first Asian Games medal and adds another significant milestone to the career of one of India’s most celebrated weightlifters.
The Indian star delivered a determined performance in the 49kg final, producing a combined lift of 198kg to secure the silver medal. Her performance included an 87kg snatch and 111kg clean and jerk.
The medal is particularly significant for Indian weightlifting, which had been waiting since the 1998 Asian Games in Bangkok for another podium finish. The long wait has now ended with Chanu’s silver.
For Mirabai, the achievement also fills an important gap in an extraordinary international career. She has already won an Olympic silver medal, a World Championship gold and multiple Commonwealth Games medals, but an Asian Games medal had remained missing from her collection.
Now, at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, that missing chapter has finally been written.
Beyond the medal itself, Chanu’s achievement once again puts the spotlight on Indian weightlifting and the athletes who continue to carry the country’s hopes on the international stage.
After 28 years, India is back on the Asian Games weightlifting podium — and Mirabai Chanu has lifted the tricolour with her.
