Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu gave an outstanding performance at the National Weightlifting Championship 2026 with three national records in the women’s 48kg category on February 5.
Mirabai achieved a total lift of 205kg, setting new national records in the snatch, clean and jerk, and overall total. The 31-year-old lifted 89kg in the snatch and then followed it with a strong 116kg in the clean and jerk, easily securing the gold medal.
Mirabai’s total weight lifted improved by a massive 6kg from her previous best of 199 kg (at the 2022 World Championship in Forde – silver medal) to 205 kg at the World Championships in December 2023. At the 2022 World Championships she had previously held the national clean and jerk record of 115 kg and total of 199 kg (at that competition) in the 48kg category.
At the December 2023 World Championships, Mirabai attempted to set her own national snatch record of 91 kg, but did not succeed. However, her best lifts from that competition were clearly enough to allow her to win by 22 kg over silver medalist Ronda Soni and for Komal Kohar to win the bronze medal.
After winning an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo in 2020 at 49 kg and finishing fourth in Paris 2024 in the same weight category, Mirabai moved into the 48 kg category in 2022 when the IWF dropped the 49 kg category from Olympic qualification.