Mirabai Chanu said winning an Asian Games medal was a “dream come true” after she finally secured a podium finish at the continental showpiece in Nagoya on Wednesday. The Indian weightlifter won silver in the women’s 49kg category with a total of 198kg, ending India’s 28-year wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal.
“Winning an Asian Games medal is a dream come true. I have been chasing this medal for the last 12 years, since the 2014 Asian Games. My life is complete now with this medal. And I am feeling very light. It’s a dream Asian Games,” Chanu said after the competition.
The silver completed a major gap in Chanu’s decorated career. She has won Olympic and World Championship medals and three successive Commonwealth Games golds, but an Asian Games medal had remained elusive.
Her journey at the continental event has been marked by setbacks. Chanu finished ninth at Incheon in 2014, missed the Jakarta edition in 2018 because of a back injury and finished fourth at Hangzhou in 2023 after an injury during the clean and jerk disrupted her campaign.
CHANU MAKES HER MEDAL MOVE
Chanu began strongly in the snatch, completing all three attempts and finishing with 87kg. Defending champion and world champion Ri Song Gum of North Korea opened up a gap with a 94kg lift.
The Indian then needed a strong clean and jerk to stay in medal contention. She opened with 107kg and successfully lifted 111kg on her second attempt, taking her total to 198kg.
That was enough for silver after Indonesia’s Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana failed to complete her 107kg clean and jerk attempt. Chanu had secured her place on the podium, while Ri was comfortably ahead in the gold-medal race.
Ri lifted 116kg in the clean and jerk before successfully attempting 121kg. Her total of 215kg earned her a third successive Asian Games gold.
A LONG WAIT FINALLY ENDS
Chanu’s silver was particularly significant given her narrow miss at Hangzhou. She finished fourth there with 191kg after an injury during the clean and jerk disrupted her challenge.
The medal also made Chanu the first Indian weightlifter to win an Asian Games medal since Karnam Malleswari claimed silver in Bangkok in 1998.
Chanu has now completed the missing piece in her medal collection. After winning Olympic, World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals, she finally stood on the Asian Games podium.
Her 198kg total was well short of Ri’s record-setting 215kg, but it was enough to end India’s long wait for an Asian Games weightlifting medal and give Chanu the moment she had been chasing since 2014.
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