Mirabai Chanu shifts to 53kg for World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo
The 32-year-old Indian weightlifter will compete at the Olympic qualifying event in China from October 27 to November 8, 2026.
Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women's 53kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China. She moved up from 48kg or 49kg after 53kg became the minimum weight category for women at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Key takeaways
- Mirabai Chanu will compete in 53kg at the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China.
- She has entered a pre-competition total of 200kg and is placed in Group B.
- The event runs from October 27 to November 8, 2026, and is an Olympic qualifying event.
- India has also fielded Gyaneshwari Yadav, Usha, Nirupama Devi and Lovepreet Singh.
- Chief national coach Vijay Sharma said preparation will begin from March next year.
World and Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu will compete in the women's 53kg category at the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo, China, on Thursday.
The 32-year-old lifter moved up to the higher weight after 53kg became the minimum weight category for women at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. She recently won a silver medal at the Asian Games in 49kg.
Mirabai has won all her major medals in either 48kg or 49kg, and she competed in 55kg once at the Singapore International meet in 2022.
For the World championships, she has entered a pre-competition total of 200kg and is placed in Group B, while top competitors in each weight are clubbed in Group A.
Mirabai will spearhead India's challenge at the championships, scheduled to take place at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre from October 27 to November 8, 2026.
Olympic qualification and India's squad
The World Weightlifting Championships is an Olympic qualifying event for Los Angeles 2028. The competition in Ningbo will mark the first of 10 qualifying events on the road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The LA Olympics qualifying timeline has two periods.
The best three results of the first period, comprising six events, and the best two results from the second period, including four events, of an athlete will be considered to finalise the Olympic Qualification Ranking. Each kilogram lifted will count as one ranking point.
At the end of the qualification process, the top eight eligible weightlifters in each Olympic weight category in the final OQR will secure quota places for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, allocated to them by name.
More than 500 athletes are expected to compete at the World Weightlifting Championships in Ningbo.
Mirabai has moved up to the 53kg category for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic cycle, as the 49kg division, in which she won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and competed at Paris 2024, has been dropped from the Olympic weightlifting programme.
India has fielded Gyaneshwari Yadav in 53kg, Usha and Nirupama Devi Seram in 61kg, and Commonwealth Games silver medallist Lovepreet Singh in +110kg.
Coach's outlook and preparation
Chief national coach Vijay Sharma told The Hindu that Mira entered this competition to check herself and gather some ideas. She did not have the time to prepare after the Asian Games, leave alone increasing her normal body weight, which stays around 50kg. The team will begin preparation from March next year, with the target to qualify for the Olympics.
Indian weightlifters at the World Championships
Athlete | Weight category |
|---|---|
Mirabai Chanu | 53kg |
Gyaneshwari Yadav | 53kg |
Usha | 61kg |
Nirupama Devi | 61kg |
Lovepreet Singh | +110kg |
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