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 Asian Games.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with 215kg, including a world-record 121kg clean and jerk, while Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with 191kg. Chanu’s result marked India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari won silver in Bangkok in 1998.
Chanu completed all three of her snatch attempts, finishing with 87kg. She then opened her clean and jerk campaign with 107kg and successfully lifted 111kg on her second attempt, taking her overall total to 198kg. That proved sufficient for silver after Wijayana failed to complete her 107kg attempt.
The medal ended a long wait for Chanu, who finished ninth at the 2014 Asian Games, missed the 2018 edition because of a back injury and came fourth in Hangzhou in 2023 after an injury during the clean and jerk.
The achievement also completes a significant gap in Chanu’s medal collection. The Olympic and World Championship medallist had already won three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medals, but an Asian Games podium finish had remained elusive.
At 31, Chanu now has her first Asian Games medal, while India returns to the weightlifting podium at the continental event after 28 years.
Conversation
Be kind and stay on topic. Comments are moderated; abuse, spam and personal attacks are removed. Report a problem