Mirabai Chanu eyes maiden Asian Games medal as she leads India's weightlifting squad

New Delhi: Olympic medallist and former world champion Mirabai Chanu will lead India's weightlifting squad at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, where she will aim to win the only major multi-sport medal missing from her illustrious career, according to Olympics.com.

The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in Japan from September 19 to October 4, with the weightlifting competition set to take place from September 22 to 28 at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium.

Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women's 49kg category and will look to secure her maiden Asian Games medal after narrowly missing out at the Hangzhou 2023 edition, where she finished fourth.


A medal in Aichi-Nagoya would complete Mirabai's medal collection across the three major multi-sport events -- the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. She had won her third consecutive gold medal and fourth Commonwealth Games medal overall last month.

The Indian weightlifting squad features four women and one man. Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medallists Gyaneshwari Yadav and Harjinder Kaur will compete in the women's 53kg and 69kg categories, respectively, while Seram Nirupama Devi will participate in the 61kg division, according to Olympics.com.

Rishikanta Singh Chanambam is the lone male weightlifter in the squad and will compete in the 60kg category. He won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last month.

India has won 14 weightlifting medals at the Asian Games so far, including five silver and nine bronze medals, but is yet to claim a gold medal in the event.

Indian weightlifting team for Asian Games 2026

Mirabai Chanu (women's 49kg)

Gyaneshwari Yadav (women's 53kg)

Seram Nirupama Devi (women's 61kg)

Harjinder Kaur (women's 69kg)

Rishikanta Singh Chanambam (men's 60kg).