Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver, Completes Her Medal Collection at Asian Games 2026

There was one medal missing from Mirabai Chanu’s extraordinary collection. 

The Olympic silver medallist had won world titles, Commonwealth Games gold medals and Asian Championship medals. She had stood on podiums across the biggest stages of international weightlifting. But the Asian Games medal had remained elusive.

Until now. Mirabai Chanu has won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting competition at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, finally adding the missing continental medal to her résumé and ending India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal.

Her silver also completes a remarkable achievement: Mirabai has now won medals across all the major international competitions listed in her career the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, and Commonwealth Championships. Only Karnam Malleswari had previously achieved that feat for India.

Mirabai arrived at Aichi-Nagoya with a very different Asian Games history compared to her record at other major events. At the previous Asian Games, she had finished fourth, narrowly missing the podium. The disappointment made the 2026 competition particularly significant.

This time, she delivered when it mattered. Mirabai finished with a total of 198kg, comprising an 87kg snatch and 111kg clean and jerk, to claim the silver medal. It was also India’s first Asian Games weightlifting medal since 1998.

For a sport that has produced several memorable Indian performances at the continental level, the 28-year gap made Mirabai’s achievement even more significant.

Strong Start in the Snatch

Mirabai began the competition with an 85kg successful snatch attempt, immediately putting herself among the leaders. She then moved to 87kg and completed the lift successfully.

That took her snatch total to 87kg and put her in a strong position heading into the clean and jerk. North Korea’s Song Gum Ri had started her campaign strongly and eventually took the lead with a 91kg snatch. Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayna lifted 88kg to sit second, with Mirabai following closely behind.

The medal battle would ultimately be decided in the clean and jerk.

Mirabai began the clean and jerk phase with 106kg. She successfully cleared the weight before returning for her second attempt at 107kg. Another successful lift strengthened her position and gave her the platform to secure the silver medal. She eventually finished with a 111kg clean and jerk, taking her overall total to 198kg.

That was enough to secure the silver. The final standings saw North Korea’s Song Gum Ri claim the gold with a total of 215kg, including a remarkable 121kg clean and jerk that was reported as a world record. Mirabai's 198kg placed her second, while the competition also saw Indonesia’s Wijayna challenge for the podium.

The result gave India a long-awaited Asian Games weightlifting medal.

The silver is particularly important because of what it means within Mirabai’s broader career. She has now won medals at the Olympics, World Championships, Asian Championships, Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Championships. With the Asian Games silver finally added to that list, there is no longer a major international weightlifting event in the supplied list where she has gone without a medal.

Her medal résumé includes:

• Olympics: Silver

• World Championships: Gold and two silver medals

• Asian Games: Silver

• Asian Championships: Bronze

• Commonwealth Games: Three gold medals and one silver

• Commonwealth Championships: Four gold medals and one silver

The achievement places Mirabai alongside Karnam Malleswari as the second Indian weightlifter to win medals across all these major international competitions.

A Long-Awaited Moment for Indian Weightlifting

For Mirabai, the Asian Games silver is more than another medal. It closes one of the few remaining gaps in a career that has already included an Olympic podium, world-level success and repeated Commonwealth dominance. For Indian weightlifting, it carries an additional significance.

The country had not won an Asian Games weightlifting medal since 1998. That wait is finally over.

And it was Mirabai Chanu, the athlete who had herself finished fourth at the previous edition who brought Indian weightlifting back onto the Asian Games podium.

After years of waiting, the missing medal is finally hers.

Mirabai Chanu is an Asian Games medallist.