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For years, Mirabai Chanu has carried the hopes of Indian weightlifting on her shoulders, lifting more than just the weights placed before her. On Wednesday, the Olympic medallist finally added the Asian Games silver to her glittering collection, completing her medal haul across the major international events.
The 32-year-old Indian weightlifter secured silver in the womens 49kg category at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, lifting a combined 198kg to claim her maiden medal at the continental showpiece. Chanu successfully completed all three of her snatch attempts, lifting 83kg, 85kg and 87kg. She then opened the clean and jerk with 107kg before making 111kg in her second attempt to finish with a total of 198kg. North Koreas Ri Song Gum won gold with a total of 215kg, while Wijayana claimed bronze. The medal was a landmark moment in Chanus career. After winning Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, three Commonwealth Games gold medals and one silver, and medals at the World, Commonwealth and Asian Championships, the Asian Games podium had remained elusive. At the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, an injury forced her to withdraw from her final clean and jerk attempt, leaving her fourth. Three years later, she returned to the continental stage and secured the medal that had been missing from her collection. With the silver, Chanu became the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleshwari to win medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships. Born on August 8, 1994, in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur, Chanus journey to the top began in humble surroundings. The youngest of six siblings, she grew up in a modest family, with her father, Saikhom Kriti Meitei, working in the Public Works Department and her mother, Saikhom Tombi, running a small shop to supplement the family income, according to a media release from SAI. Long before she became one of Indias most recognisable sporting icons, Chanu developed her strength through everyday tasks in her village, including collecting firewood and carrying water uphill across the hilly terrain. She initially aspired to become an archer, but her natural strength was recognised at the Khuman Lampak Sports Academy, setting her on the path to weightlifting. She began formal training in 2008 and regularly travelled from her village to Imphal, often relying on passing truck drivers for rides because her family could not afford daily transportation. Those early struggles became an enduring part of her story. Chanu later invited some of the truck drivers who had helped her reach training sessions to share in the celebrations of her Olympic success. Her rise was supported by the Manipur sports system before she moved to national-level training in Bengaluru and then the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, where she has trained since 2012. Coach Vijay Sharma has been her principal mentor through much of her senior career, serving as a guide and father figure. Chanus international breakthrough came at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships, where she won gold. She followed it with Commonwealth Games gold medals at Gold Coast in 2018, Birmingham in 2022 and Glasgow in 2026, alongside silver medals at the World Championships in 2022 and 2025 and gold at the Asian Championships in 2021. Her Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020 established her among Indias leading sporting figures. She finished fourth at Paris 2024, but continued to compete at the highest level, returning to the podium at the 2025 World Championships before completing her Asian Games medal collection. Away from competition, Chanu serves as Additional Superintendent of Police (Sports) in Manipur Police and is pursuing a sports psychology programme through Amity University Online. Alongside Sharma, she has also helped establish the Weightlifting Warriors Academy in Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, with a focus on encouraging young girls to take up the sport. Around 40 girls were reported to be training at the academy in 2026. Chanu has often cited fellow Manipuri weightlifter Kunjarani Devi as her sporting idol. Today, her own journeyfrom a village in Manipur to Olympic and Asian Games podiumshas made her an inspiration for a new generation of Indian weightlifters. Her silver in Aichi-Nagoya adds another chapter to that journey, bringing India a long-awaited weightlifting medal at the Asian Games and giving Chanu the one major accolade that had eluded her. (ANI)
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