India finish Asian Weightlifting Championships 2026 with 10 medals despite blank final day
Gandhinagar, May 17
India signed off from the Asian Weightlifting Championships 2026 with a tally of 10 medals despite failing to add to their haul on the final day of competition in Gandhinagar on Sunday.
The hosts ended the continental meet with one silver and nine bronze medals, marking a significant improvement from the previous edition in Jiangshan, where India's two-member contingent returned empty-handed, according to Olympics.com.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Lovepreet Singh produced the best Indian performance on the concluding day, finishing fifth in the men's 110kg+ category with a personal-best total lift of 386kg.
Lovepreet managed 174kg in snatch and 212kg in clean and jerk to surpass his previous best by 12kg. He began with a successful 170kg snatch before improving to 174kg on his second attempt, though he failed to clear 177kg in his final try.
In clean and jerk, the Indian lifter successfully lifted 205kg and 212kg before narrowly missing 216kg in his last attempt.
Two-time Olympic medallist Gor Minasyan clinched gold in the super heavyweight division with a combined lift of 457kg, while Alireza Yousefi and Song Yeonghwan completed the podium.
India's medal campaign was led by Gyaneshwari Yadav, who secured the country's only silver medal in the women's 53kg snatch event and also added an overall bronze.
Komal Kohar opened India's account in the women's 48kg category with bronze medals in overall standings and clean and jerk. Kohar competed in place of the injured Olympic medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu.
In the men's 71kg division, Ajith Narayana claimed bronze medals in overall total and clean and jerk.
Harjinder Kaur added a bronze in the women's 69kg snatch event, while Sanjana enjoyed a productive outing in the women's 77kg category, winning three bronze medals across overall, snatch and clean and jerk sections.
Separate medals were awarded for snatch, clean and jerk, and overall totals at the championships.
The 2026 edition marked only the second time India hosted the Asian Weightlifting Championships after New Delhi staged the event in 1982. A 16-member Indian contingent participated in the competition in Gandhinagar.
— ANI
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