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Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver, Ends India’s 28-Year Weightlifting Drought
Mirabai Chanu is an Indian weightlifter who won a silver medal at the Asian Games.
She lifted a total of 198 kilograms in the women’s 49-kilogram event.
This was India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal in 28 years.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold and set a world record.
Chanu had tried to win an Asian Games medal three times before.
In 2016, she failed to complete any of her lifts at the Rio Olympics and considered quitting.
Her coach helped her rebuild her skills and confidence.
She later won a world championship, an Olympic silver medal and three Commonwealth Games golds.
Chanu also started a training academy to help young lifters.
Her silver medal showed how she kept going after difficult setbacks.
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49-kilogram weightlifting event at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya.
Her 198-kilogram total gave India its first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari’s silver in 1998.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with a world-record 215-kilogram total, including a 121-kilogram final lift.
Chanu’s medal followed earlier Asian Games disappointments, including a fourth-place finish after a hip injury in 2023.
After her Rio 2016 failure, Chanu rebuilt her technique and confidence, later winning world, Olympic and Commonwealth medals.
- Who
- Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, North Korean gold medalist Ri Song Gum and other competitors in the women’s 49-kilogram event.
- What
- Chanu won the silver medal with a 198-kilogram total, ending India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal.
- Where
- The Nagoya City Trade and Industry Centre in Nagoya, Japan.
- When
- September 23, 2026.
- Why
- Chanu sought to end a long personal and national Asian Games medal drought after previous injuries, withdrawals and disappointing finishes.
Key facts
- Medalist
- Mirabai Chanu of India
- Event
- Women’s 49-kilogram weightlifting
- Result
- Silver medal with a 198-kilogram total
- Gold medalist
- Ri Song Gum of North Korea
- Winning total
- 215 kilograms, described as a world record
- Previous Indian medal
- Karnam Malleswari’s silver at the 1998 Asian Games
- Training academy
- Weightlifting Warriors Academy in Ghaziabad, co-founded by Chanu, Olympic Gold Quest and coach Vijay Sharma
Quotes
Mirabai Chanu
Indian weightlifter who won the Asian Games silver medal in the women’s 49 kg category
“There is pressure. Really. There is pressure. The whole world has kept hope for me. That Mirabai will get a medal.”
indianexpress.com
“In a way, my life is complete now”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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