Asian Games 2026: Mirabai Chanu wins maiden silver medal in 49kg Weightlifting

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Olympic medallist and three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Mirabai Chanu won her first Asian Games medal on Wednesday, securing silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.

Following legendary Karnam Malleshwari, Chanu stands as only the second Indian weightlifter to claim a medal across all major international competitions, including the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, and both Asian and Commonwealth Championships.

Chanu produced an exceptional performance throughout the contest, completing a total lift of 198kg. She completed all three of her snatch attempts successfully, lifting 83kg, 85kg and 87kg.

India’s strong showing in shooting, rowing and water sports

Elsewhere on Wednesday, two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker led India’s performance by qualifying for the women’s 10m air pistol individual final. Teammates Suruchi Inder Singh and Esha Singh fell short during qualification and missed the cut for the final round.

In rowing, Balraj Panwar claimed a spot in the men’s single sculls final by finishing third in his heat with a time of 6:52.84, placing fourth overall across both heats. The men’s double sculls team of Satnam Singh and Salman Khan also booked their place in the final after clocking 6:15.63 to finish second in their heat and fourth overall. Additionally, Jaswinder Singh and Nitin Kumar placed fourth in their men’s pair heat to book a spot in Final B, while the women’s four crew featured in their opening heat.

India’s canoe sprint squad also generated positive results. The men’s kayak four 500m team, Harshwardhan Shaktawat, Varinder Singh, L Naocha Singh Oinam, and Arun Singh, advanced to Final A with a third-place finish in Heat 1 (1:29.447). Megha Pradeep took fifth in her women’s canoe single 200m heat to advance to the semi-finals, while Parvathy Geetha and Phairembam Soniya Devi progressed in the women’s kayak double 500m.

Earlier, Indian wushu star Naorem Roshibina Devi assured herself of a third successive Asian Games medal after storming into the women’s Sanda 60kg semifinals with a 5-0 victory over Macao, China’s Chu Man Sin. Earlier, Lakshay Sen and the men’s badminton team secured a medal in Badminton at the Asian Games.

(With inputs from ANI)

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