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Delhi Minister Invites Mirabai Chanu to Shape Sports Development Vision
Delhi’s sports minister met famous weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
He asked her to help improve sports facilities in Delhi.
He also wants her advice on finding and training young athletes.
Chanu recently won a silver medal at the 2026 Asian Games.
She lifted a total of 198 kilograms in her event.
This was her first Asian Games medal.
Her medal ended India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal.
Chanu also helps train about 100 young weightlifters at an academy in Ghaziabad.
The government believes her experience can help make its sports plans more useful.
Delhi Sports Minister Ashish Sood met Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu and invited her to help shape the capital’s sports plans.
Sood proposed involving Chanu in developing Sports Centres of Excellence and advising on sports and youth policies.
Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg event at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya with a combined lift of 198kg.
Her medal ended India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal after Karnam Malleswari’s 1998 silver.
Chanu runs a weightlifting academy in Ghaziabad, where about 100 young athletes train under her and coach Vijay Sharma.
- Who
- Delhi Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ashish Sood and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
- What
- Sood invited Chanu to advise on Delhi’s sports infrastructure, talent development and youth policies.
- Where
- The meeting concerned Delhi, while Chanu trains in the Delhi-NCR region and runs an academy in Ghaziabad.
- When
- They met on Wednesday; Chanu won her Asian Games silver in 2026.
- Why
- Sood said Chanu’s experience with elite and young athletes could help develop sports facilities and programs.
Key facts
- Athlete
- Mirabai Chanu
- Asian Games result
- Silver in the women’s 49kg event at Nagoya 2026
- Total lift
- 198kg
- Delhi proposal
- State-of-the-art Sports Centres of Excellence
- Academy location
- Ghaziabad
- Young athletes trained
- Around 100
- Previous Indian Asian Games weightlifting medal
- Karnam Malleswari’s silver at Bangkok 1998
Quotes
Ashish Sood
Delhi Sports and Youth Affairs Minister
“Mirabai Chanu is a role model for young athletes across the nation. Her ground-level experience will be invaluable as we work towards creating world-class sports infrastructure in the national capital.”
thestatesman.com










