NEW DELHI: Indian weightlifter from Manipur Saikhom Mirabai Chanu bagged the country's first medal at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics winning a silver medal in women's 49kg category.

The gold went to China's Hou Zhihui with an effort of 210kg (94kg+116kg), while Windy Cantika Aisah of Indonesia took home the bronze with an effort of 194kg (84kg+110kg).

Ranked third in the world, the 26-year-old Indian lifted a total of 202 kgs to claim the silver medal. Her best Snatch attempt was 87kg and she bagged the silver medal by successfully lifting 115kg in clean & jerk

Her total lift of 202kg (87kg+115kg) betters Karnam Malleswari's bronze in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and with this, she overcame the disappointment of the 2016 Games where she had failed to log a single legitimate clean and jerk lift. 

Chanu had created history at the 2017 World Weightlifting Championships held in Anaheim, United States when she became only the second Indian in 22 years to clinch a gold at the World Weightlifting Championships after Malleswari who had achieved this feat twice, in 1994 in Turkey, and in China in 1995.

In 2018, Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg, 86 kg in snatch and 110 kg in clean and jerk to win the first gold medal for India in the Commonwealth Games 2018. She also broke the record for the weight category. Earlier Chanu had won the silver medal in the women's 48 kg weight class at the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow.

In 2019, at the Asian Weightlifting Championships, she won bronze in clean and jerk in the 49 kg Category. The total weight of 199 kg was her best then.