Mirabai Chanu sets three national records at weightlifting championships

Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu set three national records in the women’s 48kg category at the National Weightlifting Championship 2026 in Modinagar. She lifted a total of 205kg, securing gold and underlining her dominance ahead of a planned move to 53kg

Modinagar: Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu gave an outstanding performance at the National Weightlifting Championship 2026, setting three national records in the women’s 48kg category on Wednesday.

Mirabai achieved a total lift of 205kg, setting new national marks in the snatch, clean and jerk, and overall total. The 31-year-old lifted 89kg in the snatch and followed it with a strong 116kg in the clean and jerk to secure the gold medal.

---

Her total improved by 6kg from her previous best of 199kg at the 2022 World Championships in Forde, where she won silver. At that event, she had held the national clean and jerk record of 115kg and a total of 199kg in the 48kg category.

At the December 2023 World Championships, Mirabai attempted a national snatch record of 91kg but did not succeed. However, her lifts were enough to win by 22kg over silver medallist Ronda Soni, while Komal Kohar claimed bronze.

After winning an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo 2020 at 49kg and finishing fourth in Paris 2024 in the same category, Mirabai moved into the 48kg division in 2022 when the IWF dropped the 49kg category from Olympic qualification.

The transition has paid off, with Mirabai winning the Commonwealth Championships in 2023 and finishing second at the 2022 World Championships, cementing her place among India’s top female weightlifters.

Looking ahead, the Tokyo Olympic medallist is expected to gradually move up to the 53kg category after the Asian Games, as the 53kg division will be the lowest women’s weight class at the LA 2028 Olympics.

Notably, all of Mirabai’s major international successes, including three medals at the World Weightlifting Championships and three Commonwealth Games medals, have come in sub-50kg categories, underlining her dominance across divisions.