Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting competition at the Asian Games 2026 on Wednesday, securing her first-ever Asian Games medal and ending India’s 28-year wait for a podium finish in the sport.

Indian weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu delivered a composed and clinical performance to claim silver in the women’s 49kg category at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on September 23, 2026. Competing at the Nagoya City Trade and Industry Center, the 32-year-old Manipuri athlete totalled 198kg — 87kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk — to finish second behind North Korea’s dominant Ri Song Gum.

Ri Song Gum, a two-time world champion, produced a record-breaking display with a total of 215kg (including world records in the individual lifts and overall total) to complete a hat-trick of Asian Games golds. Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with 191kg.

Chanu successfully completed all three of her snatch attempts (83kg, 85kg and 87kg) before opening the clean and jerk with 107kg and then nailing 111kg on her second attempt. With silver secured, she did not attempt a third lift.

The result marked a long-awaited breakthrough for Chanu, who had previously won Olympic silver (Tokyo 2020), World Championship gold, multiple Commonwealth Games titles and other major medals, but had never stood on an Asian Games podium. She came close in Hangzhou 2023, finishing fourth after injury forced her to abandon her final clean and jerk attempt.

Her silver also ended India’s 28-year drought in Asian Games weightlifting. The last Indian medallist in the sport was Karnam Malleswari, who won silver at the 1998 Bangkok Games.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister’s Office congratulated Chanu shortly after the result. In a post on X, the PMO stated: “A special Silver for @mirabai_chanu! Congratulations to her on winning the medal in the Women’s 49 kg Weightlifting event. Her determination and consistency continue to inspire the nation. India is proud of her. Best wishes for her future endeavours: PM @narendramodi.”

Chanu later described the medal as the fulfilment of a long-held dream, saying it completed her collection of major international honours and left her “feeling very light.”

The silver adds to India’s medal tally at the ongoing Asian Games and stands as a significant milestone for Indian weightlifting on the continental stage.