Komal Kohar lifts 177kg to win bronze at Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar

At the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar, young Indian lifter Komal Kohar won a bronze medal.

Komal Kohar wins bronze at Asian Weightlifting Championships

India expected the familiar presence of Olympic silver medallist Saikhom Mirabai Chanu. But Mirabai had to skip the continental event for recovery and competition plan ahead of bigger international targets, including qualification priorities and workload management after dealing with injury concerns over the last couple of seasons. That opened the door for Komal Kohar in the women’s 48kg division. And she did not waste the opportunity.

Komal finished third in the competitive field with a total lift of 177kg (78kg snatch + 99kg clean and jerk) against a stacked Asian field that featured some of the toughest lifters on the planet.

Komal looked unfazed on the platform, lifting with a sense of calm and understood exactly what was at stake for a replacement athlete. Too often, substitutes enter big tournaments carrying the psychological burden of “not being the first choice.”

Indian weightlifting has spent years leaning heavily on Mirabai Chanu’s shoulders. Understandably so — she delivered an Olympic medal, global credibility and mainstream visibility to a sport that usually survives in the shadows until the Olympics roll around. But every successful sporting ecosystem eventually needs a second line. Komal’s bronze is that transition beginning to take shape.

Komal built herself through national camps, domestic tournaments and years of grinding away outside the celebrity sports ecosystem. Just repetition, discipline and the kind of training that turns hands into chalk-covered machinery.

Hosting the Asian Weightlifting Championships in Gandhinagar gave Indian fans a rare chance to watch elite continental lifting at home. And for Indian athletes, competing domestically changes the emotional equation. Familiar conditions, local support and the energy of hearing your own country behind you can turn a good outing into a breakthrough performance.

What Komal did in Gandhinagar was remind everyone that Indian weightlifting may finally be developing depth instead of dependence. That is how sporting cultures evolve. One champion inspires a generation. Then someone from that generation arrives carrying a medal of her own.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.