From Olympic Glory to Asian Games Silver: Mirabai Chanu Completes Her Medal Puzzle
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg category at the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, producing a total lift of 198kg. She lifted 87kg in the snatch before clearing 111kg in the clean and jerk to secure the second spot on the podium.
Xtratime Webdesk: Mirabai Chanu has been on the podium in many a tournament, but there was always something missing. Today, she found the missing piece from that puzzle: an Asian Games medal.
That piece finally fell into place in Nagoya as Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg category at the 2026 Asian Games on Wednesday, producing a total lift of 198kg. She lifted 87kg in the snatch before clearing 111kg in the clean and jerk to secure the second spot on the podium.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum took gold with a massive 215kg total, while Indonesia’s Wijayana Luluk Diana Tri claimed bronze.
For Chanu, this accomplishment meant something more. The Asian Games had been one of the few major competitions where she had not yet reached the podium. In many ways, it was the missing piece in a career that had already seen her complete so many others.
Her journey at the continental event had included disappointment and frustration. She finished ninth at the 2014 Asian Games, missed the 2018 edition because of injury, and came agonisingly close in Hangzhou in 2022, where she finished fourth after struggling with injury.
This time, she made sure the story was different. The 198kg total may have left her behind Ri Song Gum, but it finally gave Chanu the Asian Games medal she had been chasing for years. It also ended India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting medal at the Asian Games, with Karnam Malleswari having been the country’s previous medallist in the discipline in 1998.
From Olympic glory to world and Commonwealth success, Chanu now has an Asian Games silver to complete her major international medal collection. The missing puzzle piece is finally in place.