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Mirabai Chanu Wins Asian Games Silver, Ending India's 28-Year Weightlifting Wait

Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of weight plates, kettlebells and medicine balls on a gym rack; contextual equipment, not Mirabai Chanu or the September 2026 Asian Games event, rendered in warm ochre and slate-blue pastel strokes.

India's Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women's 49 kg weightlifting competition at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday. She lifted 87 kg in the snatch and 111 kg in the clean and jerk for a 198 kg total. The result ended a 28-year wait for an Indian weightlifting medal at the Asian Games; the country's previous medal was a silver won in 1998. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Chanu on the result in a separate statement.

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