North Korea's Ri Song-gum delivered a record-breaking performance in the women's 49kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, winning gold after setting three world records. India's Mirabai Chanu claimed silver, securing her first Asian Games medal after narrowly missing out on the podium at her previous two appearances.

Ri Song-gum makes history

Ri lifted 94kg in the snatch, surpassing the newly established world standard of 93kg. She then produced a 121kg lift in the clean and jerk, going six kilograms above the 115kg mark. Her combined total of 215kg was also seven kilograms higher than the previous world standard.

The 28-year-old became the first woman to win three Asian Games gold medals in weightlifting. She previously won gold at Jakarta in 2018 in the 48kg category and at Hangzhou in 2023 in the 49kg category.

Her latest records came after the International Weightlifting Federation introduced revised weight categories from August 1 and reset the world standards for the new divisions. Under the new system, athletes who surpass the established standards are recognised as setting world records.

Mirabai Chanu finished second with a total lift of 198kg. She recorded 87kg in the snatch before lifting 111kg in the clean and jerk to secure the silver medal.

The result marked Chanu's first Asian Games medal. She had finished fourth at the 2014 Asian Games and failed to complete her competition at the 2018 edition, before missing the podium again in Hangzhou in 2023.

The 32-year-old is a Tokyo Olympic silver medallist and former world champion. Earlier this year, she also won gold at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Indonesia's Diana Tri Wijayana took the bronze medal with a total of 191kg.

Ri joins elite group of three-time Asian Games champions

Ri's victory placed her in an exclusive group of weightlifters who have won three Asian Games gold medals. Before her, Iran's Mohammad Nassiri, South Korea's Kim Tae-hyun and Iran's Behdad Salimi had achieved the feat.

Ri is the first woman to win three Asian Games weightlifting golds. No weightlifter has won four gold medals at the continental Games.

Ri's victory also comes with a challenge for her future Olympic ambitions. The women's 49kg category will not be included in the weightlifting programme at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where the sport will have six men's and six women's categories.

Asked whether she would consider moving up to the 53kg category, the lowest women's division in the Olympic programme, Ri indicated that she would.

The North Korean has never competed at an Olympic Games. Her country did not participate in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and did not qualify in weightlifting for the Paris Games in 2024.

Why Ri's three world records need context

Ri's three records were established under the IWF's newly revised weight categories. The governing body introduced the new categories from August 1 and reset the world standards for each division.

As a result, her 94kg snatch, 121kg clean and jerk and 215kg total were records under the new 49kg category rather than improvements on the previous world records established under the former weight-class system.

The performance nevertheless gave Ri a dominant victory in Nagoya and made her the first woman to win three Asian Games weightlifting gold medals.

Ri Song-gum won the women's 49kg gold for North Korea with a total of 215kg. Mirabai Chanu finished second for India with 198kg, while Indonesia's Diana Tri Wijayana took bronze with 191kg.