New Delhi, Oct 27 (ANI): Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu will spearhead India's campaign at the 2026 World Weightlifting Championships at the Ningbo Olympic Sports Centre in China from October 27 to November 8. The competition in Ningbo will mark the first of 10 qualifying events on the road to the LA 2028 Olympic Games, according to Olympics.com, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Latestly

Chanu, 32, will compete in the women's 53kg category — one of the six women's weight classes in the LA 2028 programme — having moved up after the 49kg division, in which she won silver at Tokyo 2020 and competed at Paris 2024, was dropped from the Olympic programme. The 53kg class is now the lowest women's weight division at the Olympics, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Latestly

It will be the first time Chanu contests the 53kg class at a World Championships, and she has been placed in Group B, with her lift scheduled for October 29. Compatriot Gyaneshwari Yadav will also compete in the women's 53kg event, in Group C. Groupings are based on the entry totals athletes submit for the snatch and clean and jerk, and lifters outside Group A can still win medals on their combined totals, The Times of Bengal reported.

Source: The Times of Bengal

India's squad at Ningbo also includes Usha and Nirupama Devi Seram in the women's 61kg category and Lovepreet Singh in the men's +110kg category, according to the ANI squad list. Chanu's World Championships record includes gold in the 48kg class in 2017 and silver medals in 2022 and 2025; she missed the 2024 edition while completing rehabilitation, ANI and The Times of Bengal reported.

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

To stay eligible for the Olympic Qualification Ranking, lifters must register three total results in the first qualification period and two in the second, all in the same Olympic weight category, with each kilogram lifted counting as one ranking point. At the end of the process, the top eight eligible lifters in each category in the final ranking will secure LA 2028 quota places by name. More than 500 athletes are expected to compete in Ningbo, ANI reported.

Source: ANI via Latestly