Asian Games 2026: Mirabai Chanu Wins Silver as India Medal Tally Rises to 12
Mirabai Chanu won her first Asian Games medal with silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at Aichi-Nagoya 2026. India ended September 23 with 12 medals — one gold, five silver and six bronze.
Mirabai Chanu holding her silver medal after finishing second in the women's 49kg weightlifting event at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya
Table of Contents (22 sections)
Indian weightlifting star Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg event at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya on Wednesday, September 23, securing the one major international medal that had been missing from her career.
Chanu produced a combined lift of 198kg, comprising 87kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk, to finish second behind North Korea’s Ri Song Gum. Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana won bronze.
The result was Chanu’s first Asian Games medal and also ended a 28-year wait for an Indian weightlifting medal at the continental Games. Karnam Malleswari was the previous Indian weightlifter to reach an Asian Games podium, winning silver in the women’s 63kg category at Bangkok 1998.
Chanu’s medal initially took India's overall Asian Games tally to 11, which is why early reports and live medal tables showed that number.
But India's tally moved again later on Wednesday.
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After the Indian men’s badminton team secured bronze, India’s latest verified total rose to 12 medals — one gold, five silver and six bronze.
That makes “India tally reaches 12 medals” the accurate headline figure for publication now.
Key Takeaways
Mirabai Chanu wins silver in women’s 49kg weightlifting.
Total lift: 198kg (87kg snatch + 111kg clean & jerk).
First Asian Games medal for Chanu.
India’s first weightlifting medal at Asian Games since 1998.
Ri Song Gum produced a dominant performance, setting world-record marks in the snatch, clean and jerk and total while finishing with 215kg.
Chanu finished 17kg behind Ri but comfortably ahead of the bronze-medal total.
How Mirabai Chanu Won Silver
Chanu began the snatch section conservatively.
She successfully lifted:
83kg on her first attempt;
85kg on her second; and
87kg on her third.
Those three successful lifts put her in a strong position going into the clean and jerk.
In the clean and jerk, Chanu opened successfully at 107kg before improving to 111kg.
Her best lifts of 87kg and 111kg produced the final 198kg total, enough to secure the silver medal.
The performance was significant not because Chanu dominated the field—Ri Song Gum was clearly ahead—but because the Indian veteran finally converted years of Asian Games attempts into a podium finish.
Ri Song Gum Sets Three World Records
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum was in a different class during the final.
She lifted 94kg in the snatch, improving the previous world standard, before producing a remarkable 121kg clean and jerk.
Her combined total of 215kg was also a world record.
The victory gave Ri her third consecutive Asian Games weightlifting gold, following earlier titles in 2018 and the Hangzhou Games held in 2023.
According to AFP reporting, she became the first woman weightlifter to win three Asian Games gold medals.
Her performance also underlined why Chanu has repeatedly described Asian weightlifting as particularly competitive.
China, North Korea and other Asian nations have historically produced several of the world's strongest athletes in the lighter women's weight categories.
Why This Silver Matters So Much to Mirabai Chanu
For Chanu, the Asian Games medal had become an increasingly important personal target.
She already had:
an Olympic silver medal;
a world championship title;
multiple World Championship medals;
Commonwealth Games titles; and
medals at the Asian Championships.
But an Asian Games medal had remained missing.
After finally reaching the podium in Nagoya, Chanu said the achievement filled an important gap in her career.
She told reporters that a weightlifting medal at the Asian Games felt comparable in significance to an Olympic medal because of the strength of Asian competition.
Her reaction reflected the length of the wait.
Chanu's Long Asian Games Wait
The Nagoya silver came after several difficult Asian Games campaigns.
At earlier editions, Chanu had repeatedly missed the podium through a combination of performance setbacks and injuries.
Most recently, at the Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, she finished fourth after suffering an injury during the competition.
That experience made the 2026 campaign particularly significant.
Rather than chasing an unrealistic total against Ri once the North Korean established control of the event, Chanu focused on securing the medal position.
The result finally gave her an Asian Games podium finish after a career that has stretched across multiple Olympic and Asian Games cycles.
India Ends 28-Year Weightlifting Medal Wait
Chanu’s silver also ended a long medal drought for India in Asian Games weightlifting.
Before Wednesday, India's previous weightlifting medal at the Asian Games had come through Karnam Malleswari at Bangkok 1998.
Official Indian Olympic Association records show Malleswari won silver in the women’s 63kg category in Bangkok.
Malleswari lifted a combined 230kg in that competition and finished narrowly behind China's Lei Li.
Twenty-eight years later, Chanu has added another Indian name to the Asian Games weightlifting podium.
India Medal Tally: Why Early Reports Said 11
Readers following Wednesday's competition may see different medal totals depending on when a report was published.
Earlier in the day, after Chanu's silver, India had:
1 gold;
5 silver;
5 bronze;
for a total of 11 medals.
That figure was accurate at that point.
Later, the men's badminton team received a bronze after losing its semifinal against China, increasing India's bronze count to six and its overall total to 12.
Because the Asian Games are ongoing, the medal table can continue to change rapidly as more events conclude.
India’s Latest Asian Games 2026 Medal Tally
As of the latest verified results on the night of September 23:
Medal
India
🥇 Gold
1
🥈 Silver
5
🥉 Bronze
6
Total
12
India's only gold so far has come from the women's cricket team, which defeated Sri Lanka to successfully defend its Asian Games title.
India’s 12 Medals So Far
Gold
Women’s cricket team — Women’s cricket
India retained its Asian Games women's cricket title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final.
Silver
Women’s 10m air rifle team — Shooting
Elavenil Valarivan — Women’s 10m air rifle
Men’s 10m air rifle team — Shooting
Himanshu Dhillon — Men’s 10m air rifle
Mirabai Chanu — Women’s 49kg weightlifting
Bronze
Rudrankksh Patil — Men’s 10m air rifle
Suchika Tariyal — Women’s traditional MMA 60kg
Women’s skeet team — Shooting
Men’s skeet team — Shooting
Jay Meena — Men’s singles soft tennis
India men’s team — Badminton
The list reflects India's latest verified 12-medal total on September 23.
Shooting Adds Two More Bronzes
Chanu was not India's only medallist on Wednesday.
India won bronze in both the men's and women's skeet team competitions.
The women's team of Raiza Dhillon, Maheshwari Chauhan and Parinaaz Dhaliwal scored 331 to finish behind China and Kazakhstan.
The men's trio of Anantjeet Singh Naruka, Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Bhavtegh Singh Gill combined for 346 and also finished with bronze.
Those results took shooting's contribution to India's medal total to seven at that stage of the Games.
Jay Meena Makes Indian Soft Tennis History
Another milestone came through Jay Meena, who won bronze in men's singles soft tennis.
It was India's first Asian Games medal in soft tennis.
Meena had previously competed at the Games without winning a medal, making the Nagoya result another first for India on Wednesday.
Men's Badminton Team Takes Bronze
India's men also added a bronze medal in the badminton team competition.
The team lost 1-3 to China in the semifinal, which secured India a bronze under the competition format.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won India's only match of the semifinal, while the Chinese team prevailed overall.
The medal was India's second Asian Games medal in the men's badminton team event, according to the latest result report.
That bronze is the result that moved India's tally from the widely reported 11 medals to 12.
Mirabai Chanu's Career Medal Collection
The Asian Games silver adds another major achievement to one of India's most successful weightlifting careers.
Chanu has previously:
won Olympic silver;
become a world champion;
won multiple World Championship medals;
collected Commonwealth Games gold medals; and
won an Asian Championships medal.
Until Nagoya, the Asian Games had been the conspicuous gap.
That gap is now closed.
What Chanu Said After Winning
Chanu described the medal as particularly meaningful because of the depth of Asian weightlifting.
She said Asian Games weightlifting can feel even more difficult because several leading countries in the sport compete within Asia.
She was visibly emotional and celebratory after the competition, with reports describing her dancing in the mixed zone after finally collecting the medal she had pursued for years.
The result also comes after an injury-disrupted period in her career, making the silver a significant return to a major continental podium.
What the Result Means Ahead of LA 2028
Chanu's Asian Games success adds another major international result as the longer build-up towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics continues.
However, the Nagoya result also demonstrates the scale of the challenge.
Chanu's 198kg total was enough for a comfortable silver but remained well behind Ri Song Gum's world-record 215kg.
That 17kg difference offers a useful measure of where the highest level of the 49kg category currently stands.
Future competition results, fitness and qualification requirements will determine Chanu's Olympic prospects; the Asian Games silver alone should not be interpreted as guaranteeing an LA28 medal.
India Still Has Many Medal Events Ahead
The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games continue until October 4, meaning India's tally of 12 remains an interim figure rather than the final total.
India has around 500 athletes competing across the Games, with medal opportunities still to come in multiple sports.
The medal table can therefore change several times within a single competition day.
For live-news publishing, articles should include both the time/date context and wording such as “latest verified tally” rather than presenting an interim number as the final Games result.
September 23: A Five-Medal Day for India
India added five medals on Wednesday:
Mirabai Chanu — silver, weightlifting
Women's skeet team — bronze
Men's skeet team — bronze
Jay Meena — bronze, soft tennis
Men's badminton team — bronze
Chanu's medal was arguably the headline achievement because it ended India's 28-year Asian Games weightlifting medal drought and completed one of the few remaining major targets of her career.
Latest Verified Position
As of late September 23, 2026:
Mirabai Chanu has won silver in the women's 49kg weightlifting event.
She lifted 198kg overall — 87kg snatch and 111kg clean and jerk.
North Korea's Ri Song Gum won gold with 215kg and produced world-record marks in all three categories.
Indonesia's Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana won bronze with 191kg.
This is Chanu's first Asian Games medal.
It is India's first Asian Games weightlifting medal since Karnam Malleswari's 1998 silver.
India added five medals on September 23.
India's latest verified tally is 12 medals: 1 gold, 5 silver and 6 bronze.
The earlier 11-medal total is now outdated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Mirabai Chanu win gold or silver at the Asian Games 2026?
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women's 49kg weightlifting competition at Aichi-Nagoya 2026.
How much did Mirabai Chanu lift?
She recorded 87kg in the snatch and 111kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 198kg.
Who won gold ahead of Mirabai Chanu?
North Korea's Ri Song Gum won gold with a world-record total of 215kg.
Who won bronze?
Indonesia's Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana finished third with a combined 191kg.
Is this Mirabai Chanu's first Asian Games medal?
Yes. The silver in Nagoya is Chanu's first Asian Games medal.
When did India last win an Asian Games weightlifting medal?
Before Chanu, India's most recent Asian Games weightlifting medal was Karnam Malleswari's silver at Bangkok 1998.
How many medals does India have at Asian Games 2026?
India's latest verified tally on September 23 is 12 medals — one gold, five silver and six bronze.
Why do some reports say India has 11 medals?
India had 11 medals earlier on September 23. The men's badminton team later added bronze, increasing the total to 12.
How many medals did India win on September 23?
India added five medals during Wednesday's competition.
Who has won India's only gold so far?
India's women's cricket team has won the country's only gold medal so far, successfully defending its Asian Games title.
Bottom Line
Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Asian Games 2026 with a total of 198kg, securing her first Asian Games medal and ending India’s 28-year wait for a weightlifting podium finish at the continental Games.
India’s latest verified medal tally stands at 12 — one gold, five silver and six bronze — after five medals on September 23, including Chanu’s silver and the men’s badminton team bronze.
The Rajatheertha Team publishes news, explainers, guides and updates across India and the world. Our coverage follows Rajatheertha's editorial, verification and corrections standards.
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