Mirabai Chanu wins maiden Asian Games medal, bags silver in 49kg

India’s star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won her maiden Asian Games medal on Wednesday, claiming the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center in Aichi and Nagoya.Mirabai lifted a total of 198kg in the event. She recorded 87kg in the snatch before managing 111kg in the clean and jerk to finish with the silver medal.North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won the gold medal, while Indonesia’s Wijayana Luluk Diana Tri secured the bronze.

Nagoya: Silver medallist Mirabai Chanu of India (left), gold medallist Ri Song-gum of North Korea (centre) and bronze medallist Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana of Indonesia pose for photos during the medal ceremony of the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Asian Games 2026 pic.twitter.com/wrBYfz1x99

— IANS (@ians_india) September 23, 2026

Mirabai had narrowly missed out on a medal at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, finishing fourth after an injury prevented her from completing her final clean and jerk attempt.The 30-year-old Indian weightlifter won a silver medal in the women’s 49kg category at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. On April 17, 2021, she set a world record in the clean and jerk with a 119kg lift at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. She held the record until September 5, 2023.
Mirabai was awarded the Padma Shri and the Khel Ratna Award in 2018. She also won gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships and two silver medals at the World Championships.At the Commonwealth Games, Mirabai has won three gold medals and one silver. She also set Commonwealth Games records in the 49kg snatch, clean and jerk, and overall categories, improving her marks across subsequent editions.