Weightlifting / Mirabai Chanu Becomes India’s First Weightlifting Medallist at Asian Games Since 1998

Nagoya, Sep 23: Mirabai Chanu, the ace Indian weightlifter, finally tasted success at the Asian Games claiming her maiden medal — a silver — in the women’s 49kg category on Wednesday.

At the Nagota City Trade and Industry Centre, the 32‑year‑old lifted a total of 198kg — 87kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk — to secure silver and become India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medallist since Karnam Malleshwari’s silver in Bangkok in 1998.

Two‑time Asian Games and world champion Ri Song‑gum of North Korea claimed gold with 210kg (94kg snatch, 121kg clean and jerk), while Indonesia’s Wijayana Luluk Diani Tri took bronze with 191kg (87kg snatch, 103kg clean and jerk).

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The medal in Aichi‑Nagoya completed Chanu’s collection across the three major multi‑sport events — Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.

She also became only the second Indian weightlifter after Malleshwari to medal at all major international competitions, including the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and Asian & Commonwealth Championships.

Chanu already owns an Olympic silver, a world title, and three Commonwealth Games golds, but the Asian Games podium had eluded her for over a decade. She finished ninth on debut in 2014, missed the 2018 edition due to injury, and endured heartbreak in Hangzhou 2023 when a thigh injury left her fourth.

Returning to Japan — the country where she won her Olympic silver — Chanu finally delivered the elusive medal she had chased since 2014.

Her journey has been marked by setbacks as much as triumphs: at the Rio 2016 Olympics she failed to register a valid lift, only to bounce back five years later in Tokyo with a silver medal.

Opening with an 87kg snatch and following up with 111kg in clean and jerk, Chanu finished with 198kg overall.

The silver ended India’s 28‑year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal, extending the nation’s growing medal tally in Nagoya.

(IANS)