Komal Kohar gave India a strong start at the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships after clinching a bronze medal in the women’s 48kg category in Gandhinagar.
Competing in place of Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu, the 23-year-old handled the pressure brilliantly and emerged as India’s first medallist of the continental event.
Kohar registered a combined lift of 177kg, including 78kg in snatch and 99kg in clean and jerk, to finish on the podium in front of the home crowd.
Opportunity Knocks in Mirabai’s Absence
Kohar was drafted into the Indian squad after Mirabai Chanu was ruled out of the championships due to an ongoing shoulder injury recovery.
For the young lifter, the competition presented a massive opportunity to prove herself on one of Asia’s biggest stages — and she grabbed it confidently.
Her bronze in the clean and jerk category further highlighted her consistency during the event.
Kohar began her snatch campaign with a successful 75kg lift before eventually managing 78kg in her final attempt after an earlier miss. In clean and jerk, she steadily improved from 94kg to a successful 99kg effort that sealed the podium finish.
Chinese Taipei Dominates the Category
The women’s 48kg division saw Chinese Taipei dominate proceedings with a commanding one-two finish.
Huang Yi Chen secured the gold medal with a total lift of 193kg, while Fang Wan-Ling claimed silver with 192kg.
The category did not feature some of Asia’s traditional powerhouses such as China, North Korea and Thailand, opening the door for several emerging athletes to make their mark.
Still, Kohar’s composed display under pressure stood out as one of India’s major positives on the opening day of the championships.
Strong Sign for Indian Weightlifting
India entered the Asian Championships with a 16-member contingent comprising eight male and eight female lifters.
Kohar’s podium finish comes at an important time for Indian weightlifting as the country continues to build depth beyond established stars like Mirabai Chanu.
The youngster had earlier impressed at the National Championships in Modinagar, where she recorded a personal best total of 182kg earlier this year.
Her latest achievement in Gandhinagar now marks one of the biggest results of her career so far.
Records Fall in Men’s Competition
The opening day of the championships also witnessed a remarkable performance in the men’s 60kg category.
North Korea’s Un Chol Pang broke the world and Asian clean and jerk record with a massive 174kg lift before securing gold with a total of 304kg.
The sensational effort underlined the high level of competition on display at the continental championships.
The Way Ahead
Komal Kohar’s bronze medal has provided India with an encouraging start at the Asian Weightlifting Championships and showcased the country’s growing talent pool in the sport.
With several more Indian lifters set to compete in the coming days, the hosts will now hope to build on Kohar’s breakthrough performance and add more medals in front of the home fans in Gandhinagar.
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