Olympic silver medallist Mirabai Chanu will compete in Group B of the women’s 53kg category at the 2026 World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, for the first timeThe event will also be an important step in India’s preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
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India’s Mirabai Chanu poses for photos after winning the silver medal in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event during the medal ceremony at the Asian Games 2026 in Nagoya, Japan, on Wednesday, September 23, 2026(Photo: IANS/Biplab Banerjee)
Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women’s 53kg category at the 2026 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China on October 29The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist will be competing in the category for the first time at the World Championships and has been placed in Group B.
The change comes after the weight categories for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics were revisedThe women’s 53kg category is now the lowest weight division in the Olympic programme, replacing the 49kg category in which Mirabai won her Olympic silver medal at the Tokyo Games.
According to the entry list, Mirabai’s compatriot Gyaneshwari Yadav will also compete in the women’s 53kg event but in Group CThe Indian team has six lifters competing at the World Championships, with four women and two men representing the country.
Mirabai is set to compete in Group B for the first time since 2023She was placed in Group D at the 2023 World Championships, where she weighed in to meet the participation requirement for Paris Olympics qualification but did not lift in competition.
The grouping system is based on the entry totals submitted by athletes for the snatch and clean and jerkGroup A generally features lifters with the highest declared totals, but athletes in other groups can still win medals based on their combined lifts.
The 32-year-old has a strong record at the World ChampionshipsShe won gold in the 48kg category in 2017 and silver medals in 2022 and 2025She missed the 2024 edition while completing her rehabilitation.
The upcoming competition will also be important for India’s preparations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, as the World Championships are among the qualification events approved by the International Weightlifting Federation.
Besides Mirabai and Gyaneshwari, Usha and Nirupama Devi will represent India in the women’s 61kg categoryUsha is entered in Group D, while Nirupama will compete in Group C.
In the men’s events, Charu Pesi will compete in the 65kg category, while Lovepreet Singh will take part in the men’s 110kg-plus divisionLovepreet recently won silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
India will hope its lifters can put up strong performances in Ningbo as the road to the Los Angeles Olympics gets underway.
Mirabai Chanu in good form
Notably, Mirabai Chanu has already won two major medals this year at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Asian Games in Aichi and Nagoya.
The 32-year-old had won gold at CWG 2026 in the women’s 48kg category before winning a silver in the 49kg category at the Asiads.
