Day 3: Mirabai Chanu wins weightlifting silver as Manu Bhaker finishes fifth in Aichi-Nagoya

On September 23, 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya at the Asian Games, Mirabai Chanu won silver in the women's 49kg weightlifting while Manu Bhaker finished fifth in the women's 10m air pistol, leaving India with a mix of podiums and near-misses on Day 3.

Chanu lifted a total of 198kg to take silver behind North Korea's Ri Song Gum, who retained her title with 215kg; Indonesia's Luluk Diana Tri Wijayana claimed bronze with 191kg. Chanu's medal ended a 28-year gap for India in Asian Games weightlifting, the previous podium having been Karnam Malleswari's silver in Bangkok in 1998. Chanu's Asian Games record previously included ninth place in 2014, absence in 2018 and fourth in Hangzhou in 2023.

Chanu completed all three snatch attempts to finish at 87kg, then cleared 107kg and 111kg in the clean and jerk to post her 198kg total and stay clear of the chasing field. The gold medallist Ri recorded world records on her way to 215kg, while Chanu’s performance removed one of the few major omissions from her career by delivering her first Asian Games medal.

In shooting, Manu Bhaker qualified third in the women's 10m air pistol with 579 but could not replicate that form in the final, finishing fifth with 181.1. Esha Singh and Suruchi Inder Singh failed to reach the individual final, scoring 572 (15th) and 568 respectively in qualification. India finished fourth in the team event after tying Vietnam on 1719 points; Vietnam took bronze on the inner-10 count, 46 to India's 44.

India collected bronzes in skeet, with Raiza Dhillon, Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Maheshwari Chauhan claiming the women's team medal and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad Khan taking the men's team bronze. Jay Meena secured India's first-ever Asian Games medal in soft tennis by reaching the semifinals after beating the Philippines' Sherwin Nuguit in the quarter-finals and then losing to Japan's Takuya Kurosaka in the last four.

The men's badminton team guaranteed a bronze after reaching the semifinals, their campaign ending with a 3-1 defeat to China. In the quarter-final against Japan, Lakshya Sen staged a comeback to beat Kodai Naraoka 11-21, 21-5, 21-19, Satwik and Chirag defeated Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi to seal the tie, and Ayush Shetty completed a 3-0 victory; in the semi, Lakshya lost to Shi Yu Qi, Satwik and Chirag levelled the tie, and China won the next two matches to advance to the final.

Roshibina Devi guaranteed at least silver by reaching the women's 60kg Sanda final, beating Indonesia's Thania Kusumaningtyas in the semifinal; the result ensured her third successive Asian Games medal after bronze in 2018 and silver in 2023. India’s kabaddi teams remained unbeaten in their campaigns after the women's 37-23 win over Iran and the men's 48-25 victory against Bangladesh. The women's hockey team defeated Thailand 20-1 with Deepika Sehrawat scoring nine goals, while India lost 3-0 to Malaysia in sepaktakraw.

By the close of Day 3 India had 12 medals: one gold, five silver and six bronze. Roshibina will contest the women's 60kg Sanda final for gold, and Manu Bhaker still has the 25m pistol event later in the Games as another opportunity to add to India's medal haul.