Mirabai Chanu wins maiden Asian Games medal with silver in 49kg weightlifting

Mirabai Chanu finally added an Asian Games medal to her collection on September 23, winning silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026.

The Olympic silver medallist finished with a combined lift of 198kg, taking second place behind North Korea’s Ri Song Gum, who won gold with 215kg. Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana claimed bronze with 191kg.

Chanu was flawless in the snatch, clearing 83kg, 85kg and 87kg across her three attempts. She then opened the clean and jerk with 107kg before successfully lifting 111kg on her second attempt to reach her final total of 198kg.

The medal ends a long wait for Chanu, who had missed the podium at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. She had finished fourth there after an injury prevented her from completing her final clean and jerk attempt.

Chanu entered the Aichi-Nagoya Games after winning her third Commonwealth Games gold earlier this year. She had previously won Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020 and a World Championship title, but an Asian Games medal had remained absent from her record.

Her silver also ended India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Asian Games. India’s previous medal in the sport at the continental event came through Karnam Malleswari in 1998.

Chanu’s silver was part of a productive day for India at the Games, with the country picking up medals in shooting and soft tennis as well.

India won two bronze medals in shooting. The women’s skeet team of Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan finished third with 331 points, earning India its first Asian Games medal in the women’s skeet team event.

The men’s skeet team of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmed Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill also secured bronze after scoring 346 points. Naruka progressed to the individual final.

Jay Meena secured another milestone in soft tennis by assuring India of its first Asian Games medal in the sport. He reached the men’s singles semi-finals before losing to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka. With both losing semi-finalists receiving bronze, Meena secured a podium finish.

Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker reached the women’s 10m air pistol final and finished fifth, while Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh failed to make the medal round.

India’s kabaddi teams continued their campaigns with wins in the group stage. The women defeated Iran 37-23 in Group A, having earlier beaten Bangladesh, while the men also recorded a win over Bangladesh.

In boxing, Ankush advanced to the round of 16 in the men’s 80kg category after defeating Bahrain’s Hamsa Vogel 5-0.

Abhay Singh opened his squash campaign with a comprehensive 11-1, 11-0, 11-2 win over Thailand’s Arkaradet Arkarahirunya in the men’s singles round of 32.

Indian rowers also progressed in several events. Balraj Panwar reached the men’s single sculls final, while Satnam Singh and Salman Khan advanced to the men’s double sculls final. The women’s four team of Gurbani Kaur, Aleena Anto, Tendenthoi Haobijam and Poonam also qualified for Final A.

In canoe sprint, India progressed in multiple events, with Megha Pradeep reaching the women’s canoe single 200m semi-finals. Prasanna Kumar CS and Prohit Baroi advanced in the men’s kayak double 500m, while Parvathy Geetha and Phairembam Soniya Devi progressed in the women’s kayak double 500m.

Indian paddlers also recorded wins in mixed doubles table tennis. Manush Shah and Diya Chitale defeated the Maldives’ Moosa-Aishath pair, while Yashaswini Ghorpade and Harmeet Desai beat Hong Kong’s Yiu-Ng combination.

India’s campaign also saw exits in fencing and swimming. GN Kumaresan was knocked out in the men’s sabre round of 16 by Kazakhstan’s Artyom Sarkissyan, while Mina Devi Naorem, Ashitha Stalinraj and Karan Singh exited in the round of 32.

In swimming, Benedicton Beniston finished 13th overall in the men’s 100m butterfly heats, while Vedaant Madhavan and Aneesh Sunil failed to progress from the men’s 200m freestyle heats. Sajan Prakash did not start the 100m butterfly event.

India also had mixed results in sepaktakraw. The men’s team defeated the Philippines 2-1 in their Group B regu match but did not advance to the next stage.

Chanu’s silver, however, remained the day’s biggest milestone for Indian weightlifting, completing the one major Asian multi-sport medal that had eluded the 2020 Olympic silver medallist.