New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday congratulated Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu on winning silver at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games 2026, describing it as a historic achievement that ended India’s 28-year wait for a medal in the sport at the continental showpiece.
Mandaviya shared a post on X, writing, "Historic Silver for Mirabai Chanu! Congratulations on winning the Silver Medal in the Women’s 49kg Weightlifting event at #AsianGames2026. This marks her first Asian Games medal and brings India another medal at the Games after 28 years! The entire nation is proud of you."
Historic Silver for Mirabai Chanu! 🏋️♀️🇮🇳 Congratulations on winning the Silver Medal in the Women’s 49kg Weightlifting event at #AsianGames2026. This marks her first Asian Games medal and brings India another medal at the Games after 28 years! The entire nation is proud of you. #Cheer4Bharat
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 23, 2026
Chanu secured her maiden Asian Games medal in the women’s 49kg category with a combined lift of 198kg. She successfully completed all three of her snatch attempts, lifting 83kg, 85kg and 87kg, before registering 111kg in her second clean and jerk attempt.
North Korea’s Ri Song Gum won gold with a total lift of 215kg, while Wijayana claimed bronze.
The silver added another major achievement to Chanu’s decorated career. A Tokyo 2020 Olympic silver medallist and three-time Commonwealth Games champion, she became the second Indian weightlifter after Karnam Malleshwari to win medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships, Asian Championships and Commonwealth Championships.
Chanu had finished fourth at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023 after an injury forced her to withdraw from her final clean and jerk attempt. She returned to the continental stage after winning gold at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Mandaviya also congratulated soft tennis player Jay Meena, who won India’s first-ever Asian Games medal in the sport after securing bronze in the men’s singles event.
"Heartiest congratulations to Jay Meena on securing the first-ever Bronze Medal in the Men’s Singles Soft Tennis event at the #AsianGames2026," Mandaviya wrote on X.
Meena’s campaign ended in the semi-finals, where he lost 2-4 to Japan’s Takuya Kurosaka. The Indian went down in the first three sets before winning the next two to reduce the deficit to 2-3, but Kurosaka clinched the sixth set 4-1 to seal the contest.
Meena had earlier defeated the Philippines’ Sherwin Nuguit in the quarter-finals, assuring India of a historic medal as all semi-finalists were guaranteed a podium finish.
India’s medal tally stood at 11, placing the country 12th in the standings, while China led with 66 medals at the time of writing this report. (ANI)
