Mirabai Chanu has an unfinished business at Asian Games this year

It’s almost an anomaly that for a decorated weightlifter like Saikhom Mirabai Chanu with an Olympics silver in her cabinet – not to speak of multiple World Championship and Commonwealth Games medals – an Asian Games medal is still missing. The pint-sized powerhouse, the face of Indian weightlifting for more than a decade, wishes to address this in the Asiad in Nagoya this year.   

“The Asian Games is very important personally because I still have unfinished business there. The competition level is very high, which makes it even more challenging and exciting,” Mirabai said at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 in Raipur on Wednesday.

One of the key challenges for Mirabai, who came agonisingly close to a podium finish in the 2022 Games in Hangzhou before a hip injury sidelined her,  will be adjusting her weight categories. She has largely competed in the 49kg division but must now shift between categories following a revision in weight classes by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

The Manipur ace will have to compete in the 48kg category at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, scheduled from 23 July to 2 August in Glasgow before moving back to 49 kg for another attempt at an Asian Games medal in Japan from 19 September to 4 October. “I will keep my weight within 48kg till the Commonwealth Games but within two months of it, there are Asian Games, which is in 49 kg, so I will have to switch back,” noted Mirabai. A demanding job, but the 31-year-old is game for the challenge.

She began her 2026 season in impressive fashion at the National Weightlifting Championships last month, setting three new national records in the women’s 48kg category. Mirabai lifted 89kg in the snatch — her best effort despite competing in a weight class below her usual 49kg division. She followed it up with a successful 116 kg lift in clean and jerk, a national record in the women’s 48kg category, taking her total to 205kg and securing the gold medal.

The effort also equalled her personal best total of 205kg in the 49kg category, which she had previously recorded at the Asian Weightlifting Championships five years ago.

Meanwhile, Mirabai, who considers her gold medal at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships even more special than her Olympic silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, praised the launch of the Khelo India Tribal Games, describing it as an important platform for athletes from remote regions.

“This a proud moment for me personally as a player to see the government prioritising numerous sports initiatives like Khelo India Tribal Games. The KIBG will give a platform to all those athletes from remote places, to showcase their potential. I have come across numerous such instances from across the country, especially from the North-East and other tribal regions where there is potential but couldn’t flourish due to lack of platforms like the KITG,” she added.