India to field four women weightlifters at 2026 Asian Games after Rishikanta Singh withdrawal

India will send a four-woman weightlifting squad to the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, which run from September 19 to October 4, after Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medallist Rishikanta Singh withdrew from the team because of injury. Mirabai Chanu, named in the women's 49 kg category, will head the reduced contingent.

The Aichi-Nagoya Games will mark India's 20th consecutive appearance at the Asian Games. At Hangzhou 2022 India won 106 medals in total — 28 gold, 38 silver and 40 bronze — with shooting, athletics and archery among the multiple-medal contributors. Weightlifting, by contrast, failed to produce a podium finish in Hangzhou, when India sent only a couple of lifters and neither secured a medal.

India had initially selected a five-member weightlifting squad comprising four women and one man for the 2026 Asian Games. That plan changed after Rishikanta Singh, the Commonwealth Games 2026 silver medallist, had to withdraw due to injury, leaving the country to compete in weightlifting with an all-women team.

The confirmed women's weightlifting roster for India lists Mirabai Chanu (49 kg), Gyaneshwari Yadav (53 kg), Nirupama Devi Seram (61 kg) and Harjinder Kaur (69 kg). Gyaneshwari Yadav and Harjinder Kaur are noted in the squad as silver medallists at the Commonwealth Games 2026.

Mirabai Chanu, aged 32, will contest the women's 49 kg event and remains without an Asian Games medal in her career; she is the highest-profile name in the Indian weightlifting group for Aichi-Nagoya. The four-woman lineup represents India's weightlifting entrants following the withdrawal of the lone male athlete originally named.

Broadcast arrangements for weightlifting at the Asian Games 2026 in India have been announced: events will be live-streamed via the SonyLIV app and website, with television coverage on the Sony Sports Network channels. For further updates, Khel Now advises following their channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, downloading the Khel Now Android or iOS apps, or joining their communities on WhatsApp and Telegram.

The weightlifting competitions will take place during the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya from September 19 to October 4, with India participating in the sport with four women lifters following Rishikanta Singh's withdrawal.