By Vivek Prabhakar Singh
New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): Mirabai Chanu on Tuesday expressed her delight after returning to New Delhi with a silver medal from the Asian Games 2026, saying she had waited years for the achievement.
Chanu secured the silver medal within the girls’s 49kg weightlifting class on the Asian Games in Japan, including the continental medal to an already embellished profession that features an Olympic medal, a World Championship medal and three Commonwealth Games gold medals.
‘I’m overjoyed. I had been ready for at the present time for years. I already had an Olympic medal and a World Championship medal, and I used to be a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist. But this was the final word dream for us; it was extremely vital to me, and now I’ve lastly secured it. I’ve added the Asian Games medal to my assortment, and having achieved one thing for India and for weightlifting, I’m completely delighted,’ Chanu stated after arriving in New Delhi on Tuesday morning.
The 32-year-old lifted a mixed 198kg, with profitable makes an attempt of 87kg within the snatch and 111kg within the clear and jerk. North Korea’s Ri Song Gum received gold with 215kg, whereas Wijayana claimed bronze.
Reflecting on her preparation, Chanu stated the Asian Games had been significantly vital for her after she suffered an damage in the course of the earlier version.
‘We skilled very effectively. These Asian Games had been essential for me as a result of I had suffered an damage in the course of the earlier ones. So, this was my finest alternative to show myself. The preparation routine did not change a lot; we caught to the identical strategies we had been utilizing earlier than,’ she stated.
The medal ended a protracted anticipate Chanu on the Asian Games. She had narrowly missed the rostrum at Hangzhou 2023 after an damage pressured her to withdraw from her ultimate clear and jerk try, leaving her fourth.
The 32-year-old entered the Aichi-Nagoya Games after profitable gold on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She can be a three-time Commonwealth Games champion and received Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020.
With her maiden Asian Games medal, Chanu grew to become the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleshwari to win medals on the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships.
Born in Nongpok Kakching, Manipur, Chanu started formal weightlifting coaching in 2008 and went on to determine herself as certainly one of India’s main weightlifters. Chanu stated the workforce was decided to profit from the chance and had a transparent technique for the weights she would try in the course of the competitors.
‘We had been decided to not let this chance slip away. We went onto the stage with a transparent technique concerning the weights, deciding precisely what to aim and the place to start out… We merely targeted extra on the precise weight mixtures we’d face and deliberate accordingly…’ she added. (ANI)