Mirabai Chanu: ‘Gave It My All but Fell Short of a Medal’ After Fourth Place Finish in Women’s 49kg Weightlifting at Paris Olympics

After securing fourth place in the women’s 49kg weightlifting event at the Paris Olympics, Indian lifter Mirabai Chanu expressed her disappointment but remains determined to improve for future competitions. Chanu narrowly missed a medal, finishing with a total weight of 199kg.

In a video shared by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), Chanu conveyed her feelings: “I did my best to win a medal for the country, but I fell short today… It’s part of the game—sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. I’ll work harder to earn a medal next time and deliver my best performance in future events.”

Chanu’s fourth-place finish came after a strong performance in both the snatch and clean-and-jerk segments. In the snatch, weightlifters must lift the barbell above their heads in one continuous motion. In the clean-and-jerk, lifters first bring the barbell to their chest (clean) and then lift it overhead with extended arms and legs (jerk), holding it until a buzzer sounds.

The gold medal was claimed by China’s Hou Zhihui with a total of 206kg, Romania’s Mihaela Valentina Cambei won silver with 205kg, and Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao took bronze with 200kg.

So far at the Paris Olympics, India has earned three bronze medals, all in shooting events.