Asian Games 2026: Mirabai Chanu bags silver medal in weightlifting, ends India’s 28-year drought

India’s weightlifting drought at the Asian Games is finally over. Star lifter Mirabai Chanu clinched the silver medal in the women’s 49kg category in Nagoya on Wednesday, lifting a total of 198 kg to secure the podium finish that had eluded her—and India—for nearly three decades.

Chanu, 32, opened with a solid 83 kg in the snatch before progressing to 85 kg and then 87 kg, nailing all three attempts to finish the first half in third place. In the clean and jerk, she produced a best lift of 111 kg, taking her overall total to 198 kg (87 + 111) and moving her into second behind North Korea’s Ri Song-gum, who won gold with 215 kg.

Historic significance for Indian weightlifting

The medal is doubly historic. It is Chanu’s first Asian Games podium finish after previous near-misses, including a fourth-place finish at Hangzhou 2023. More importantly, it ends India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari won silver in Bangkok in 1998.

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With this result, Chanu becomes only the second Indian weightlifter—after Malleswari—to win medals at all major international events, adding the Asian Games to her Olympic silver, World Championship titles, and multiple Commonwealth Games golds.

What it means for India in Nagoya

Chanu’s silver boosts India’s medal tally on Day 5 of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games and provides a morale lift for the rest of the Indian contingent across shooting, hockey, and other disciplines.

With Mirabai Chanu’s silver and a trio of shooting and soft-tennis bronzes on Day 5, India’s overall medal count at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games rose to 10—one gold, four silvers and five bronzes. The gold came from the women’s cricket team, while shooting has been the biggest contributor with seven medals (four silvers and three bronzes), and the remaining podium finishes coming from mixed martial arts, soft tennis and weightlifting.

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In the overall standings, India sits eighth on the medal table, behind leaders China, who have amassed 60 medals, and hosts Japan, who are second with 33.