The smile said it all. As Mirabai Chanu successfully lifted 111kg in her second clean and jerk attempt, the Olympic silver medallist broke into a wide grin acknowledging that she had finally erased the pain of Hangzhou and secured the elusive Asian Games medal, winning silver in the women’s 49kg category at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center on Wednesday.
Three years after an injury denied her a podium finish in Hangzhou, Chanu completed the circle with a total lift of 198kg (87kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk), becoming the first Indian weightlifter since Karnam Malleswari in 1998 to win an Asian Games medal.
“Very happy to fulfil my dream of winning an Asian Games medal,” a teary-eyed Mirabai said.
The 32-year-old has now added an Asian Games silver to her Olympic silver and four Commonwealth Games medals, including a hat-trick of golds. Her decorated career also includes three World Championship medals, including a gold, multiple Commonwealth Championships titles and an Asian Championships bronze.
The diminutive Manipuri lifter finished ninth on her Asian Games debut in 2014. A lower-back injury ruled her out of the 2018 edition, while a hip injury suffered on the platform at the Hangzhou Games in 2023 left her fourth.
This time, she was clearly on a mission.
A day after winning the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Mirabai began preparing for the Asian Games. With the 49kg category discontinued from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) roster, this was also her final attempt at the category as she now turns her attention towards the 53kg class in the build-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“Like any athlete, I have experienced lot of ups and downs in my career, but every time I have learnt to stand up to the challenges, and this Asian Games was unfinished business, so I’m really happy to finally win a medal here,” she said.
Chanu opened her campaign with 83kg in the snatch before successfully clearing 85kg and 87kg with her next two attempts to finish the first half of the competition in third place. She then came up with a successful lift of 107kg in the clean and jerk before improving it to 111kg to finally put an Asian Games medal to her name. She opted not to take the third lift.
“Today I have everything, that I have dreamed for when I had started my career. Thank you everyone in India for backing me through every ups and downs, and I want to advise all the budding athletes, especially the girls, there will be lot of hardships on your way but you have to keep fighting and never lose hope. There will be obstacles on your way but there’s no substitute to hard work and I’m sure you’ll achieve what you aspire of,” she further said.
Two-time world champion Ri Song-gum of North Korea lived up to expectations, winning gold with a record-breaking total of 215kg (94kg+121kg) to complete a hat-trick of Asian Games titles.