Olympic medallist and former world champion Mirabai Chanu will lead India's weightlifting squad at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, according to multiple reports. Chanu, who competes in the women's 49kg category, is aiming to win the only major multi-sport medal missing from her illustrious career: an Asian Games medal. She narrowly missed out at the Hangzhou 2023 edition, finishing fourth.

The Asian Games are scheduled for September 19 to October 4 in Japan, with the weightlifting competition taking place from September 22 to 28 at the Tokai Citizens Gymnasium.

Chanu's quest for an Asian Games medal comes after she won her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal and her fourth overall last month. A medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Games would complete her collection across the three major multi-sport events — the Olympics, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games — a point noted by several reports.

The Indian squad features four women and one man. Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medallists Gyaneshwari Yadav and Harjinder Kaur will compete in the women's 53kg and 69kg categories, respectively. Seram Nirupama Devi will participate in the 61kg divisionebboh. Rishikanta Singh Chanambam is the lone male weightlifter in the squad and will compete in the 60kg category. He also won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games last month.

India has won 14 weightlifting medals at the Asian Games to date, comprising five silver and nine bronze medals. The country is yet to claim a gold medal in the sport at the event, and Chanu's participation presents an opportunity to change that record.

The squad's composition and Chanu's schedule were reported by multiple outlets, including ANI, The Economic Times, The Tribune, and others, citing Olympics.com as the source of the team details.