Mirabai Chanu Wins First Asian Games Medal, Ends 28-Year Wait
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg event at the Asian Games, ending India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal.
Mirabai Chanu finally secured her first Asian Games medal, winning silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event in Nagoya. Her 198kg total also ended India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the continental Games.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with 215kg, while Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with 191kg. Chanu’s silver is India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari won silver in Bangkok in 1998.
Chanu completed all three snatch attempts and finished with 87kg. In the clean and jerk, she successfully lifted 107kg and 111kg, taking her overall total to 198kg and securing her place on the podium.
The medal marks a significant turnaround in Chanu’s Asian Games journey. She finished ninth at Incheon in 2014, missed the 2018 Jakarta Games because of a back injury and narrowly missed the podium at Hangzhou in 2023 after suffering an injury during the clean and jerk.
The 31-year-old entered the competition after winning her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow earlier this year. She has also won Olympic and World Championship medals, making the Asian Games podium one of the major honours missing from her collection.
After years of injuries and near misses, Chanu has finally added an Asian Games medal to her decorated career—and ended India’s 28-year weightlifting wait in the process.
