Mirabai Chanu wins maiden Asian Games medal, bags silver in 49kg category

Mirabai Chanu (Image credit: X)

NEW DELHI: India's star weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won her maiden Asian Games medal on Wednesday, claiming silver medal in the women's 49kg category at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center in Aichi and Nagoya.Mirabai lifted a total of 198 kg in the event. She lifted 87 kg in the snatch before managing 111 kg in the clean and jerk to finish with the silver medal.North Korea's Ri Song Gum won the gold medal with a total lift of 215kg. Indonesia's Wijayana Luluk Diana Tri took the bronze medal.

Mirabai had narrowly missed out on a medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, finishing fourth after an injury prevented her from completing her final clean and jerk attempt.The 30-year-old won a silver medal in the women's 49kg event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. On April 17, 2021, she set a world record in the clean and jerk in the 49kg category with a lift of 119kg (262 lb) at the Asian Weightlifting Championships. She held the record until September 5, 2023.

Image credit: Asian Games

Mirabai was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, and the Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, by the Government of India in 2018.

She won gold at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships and has also won two silver medals at the World Championships.

Mirabai Chanu medal record:

At the Commonwealth Games, Mirabai has won three gold medals and a silver. In the 49kg weight class, she set Commonwealth Games records in the snatch, clean and jerk and overall categories at the 2018 edition, before bettering those marks at the 2022 and 2026 Commonwealth Games.