The 2025 IWF World Weightlifting Championships in Førde, Norway, came at a pivotal juncture for Indian weightlifting a sport that has spent nearly two decades navigating between flashes of brilliance and long spells of rebuilding.
While the event concluded with India securing just one medal a silver from the indomitable Mirabai Chanu it also offered a window into a program gradually stabilizing after years of turbulence. This was the first major global event to feature the International Weightlifting Federation’s (IWF) new bodyweight categories, introduced in mid-2025. For India, it was not just a test of strength but an assessment of adaptability, depth, and direction.
To understand the importance of Førde 2025, one must revisit India’s past. The period between 2006 and 2010 remains one of the darkest chapters in Indian weightlifting, marred by multiple doping scandals that led to year-long bans and severe sanctions from the IWF. Funding from the Hinduja Foundation which had powered Indian weightlifting’s golden decade (1995–2005) disappeared, and the sport fell into disarray.
In the three Olympic cycles since, India has fielded only a handful of lifters: two at Rio 2016, one at Tokyo 2020, and one again at Paris 2024. And yet, through this barren phase, one athlete has single-handedly kept the tricolor flying on the global stage Mirabai Chanu, the woman from Nongpok Kakching whose resilience and grace have redefined India’s weightlifting identity.
Mirabai Chanu: The Constant in a Time of Change
At 31, Chanu continues to be India’s heartbeat in world weightlifting. In Førde, she claimed silver in the women’s 48kg category, lifting a total of 199kg (84kg Snatch + 115kg Clean & Jerk) her third World Championship medal and another set of national records.
Her performance was marked by strategic precision. After an early wobble in the Snatch segment, she recovered in the Clean & Jerk with lifts of 109kg, 112kg, and finally 115kg to seal silver, edging out Thailand’s Thanyathon Sukcharoen by just one kilogram. The gold went to North Korea’s Ri Song-gum, whose 213kg total set a new world record and redefined the ceiling for this division.
That Chanu managed to maintain her total from the Paris Olympics (where she lifted 199kg at 49kg body weight) despite dropping a kilogram in class demonstrates her enduring technical mastery and adaptability. It’s also a reflection of how well her coaching team has recalibrated her training post-rehabilitation. Chanu now sits just behind legends Karnam Malleswari and Kunjarani Devi in India’s all-time medal tally a symbol of consistency and grace in a sport that has struggled for both.
The Women’s Contingent: Glimpses of Promise
Beyond Chanu, the women’s performances in Førde revealed both potential and gaps.
- Nirupama Devi Seram (63kg) finished 9th among 35 lifters with a total of 216kg a career-best performance and India’s second-highest finish of the tournament. She remains on the Olympic qualification fringe and is arguably India’s most promising lifter after Chanu.
- Bindyarani Devi (58kg), a consistent presence in recent years, struggled to adapt to her new weight class, finishing 15th with 197kg.
- Harjinder Kaur (69kg) and Vanshita Verma (86kg) both lifted 218kg but finished 14th and 17th respectively, showing respectable totals but lacking the explosive edge needed at the global level.
At the same time, young Koyel Bar, who missed the Worlds but impressed at the Commonwealth Championships with a 192kg total at just 17 years old, stands out as a future world-beater. Her trajectory resembles Chanu’s early career path, and nurturing her development could be critical to sustaining India’s women’s program beyond Los Angeles 2028.
Men’s Contingent: Closing the Gap
If the women’s side has produced medals, the men’s squad is still looking for one but there are signs of steady progress. Lovepreet Singh achieved India’s best male result in Førde, finishing 8th in the 110+kg division with a total of 369kg (168kg + 201kg). His 201kg Clean & Jerk was a milestone double his bodyweight placing him firmly within the top echelon of Asian heavy lifters. In the middleweight categories, Muthupandi Raja (65kg) and Ajith Narayan (71kg) both delivered credible Top-10 finishes.
Raja’s 299kg total (130kg + 169kg) marked a strong comeback after injury, while Narayan’s 320kg total bettered his gold-winning Commonwealth effort earlier in the year. Both need a 15–20kg improvement to threaten the global podium, but their steady progression signals a maturing second tier of talent. In lighter classes, Rishikanta Chanambam (60kg) finished 11th with 269kg after missing multiple lifts, suggesting room for improvement. Meanwhile, Ajaya Babu Valluri (79kg) and Dilbag Singh (94kg) ended mid-table, with totals of 323kg and 334kg respectively.
While India’s male contingent still lacks a podium contender, it now boasts a cluster of Top-10 performers, a critical step toward building long-term depth.
Where India Stands: Metrics and Missed Margins
Out of 11 lifters, five finished in the Top 10, a statistic that underscores India’s strong Tier 2 presence in world weightlifting. Yet the gap between these finishers and the bronze medalists typically 15–25kg remains stubborn.
The data tells a clear story: India’s system is producing consistent, technically sound competitors but not yet the elite strength and precision needed for podium conversions. The issue is systemic an imbalance between power training (which aids Clean & Jerk totals) and the technical finesse required for Snatch execution, where most Indian lifters still falter.
The 2025 World Championships also highlighted how India must evolve to remain relevant through the next Olympic cycle:
- Technical Depth over Raw Strength: The persistent underperformance in Snatch events across both genders points to a national training imbalance. Programs must prioritize dynamic movement, second-pull velocity, and overhead stability areas often neglected in favor of sheer lifting volume.
- Targeted Athlete Development: The IWF’s new bodyweight categories have reset qualification thresholds. Divisions like 65kg (men) and 63kg (women) present achievable podium benchmarks within the next two years if structured progression is maintained.
- Women’s Program Sustainability: With Chanu nearing the twilight of her career, nurturing successors such as Nirupama Seram and Koyel Bar must become a national priority. Structured exposure, international camps, and injury management will be key.
- Men’s Reinvention: The men’s side needs a distinct developmental model one that integrates sports science, nutrition, and biomechanical analysis to close the final 10% performance gap separating them from global standards.
- The LA 2028 Horizon: The next Olympic cycle is crucial. The realistic target is to qualify at least three athletes, including Chanu’s likely swansong appearance. Names such as Parv, Lovepreet, Nirupama, and Koyel form the early core of India’s LA 2028 hopes.
A Future Built on Lessons and Resilience
The story of Indian weightlifting has always been cyclical a mix of brilliance, setbacks, and rebirths. From the glory days of Malleswari and Kunjarani, through the scandals that followed, to Chanu’s solitary heroism, the sport has constantly reinvented itself.
India’s Weightlifting Is Lifting Again, And This Time, It Feels Different
The Førde World Championships didn’t bring a medal haul, but they brought something perhaps more valuable a blueprint. A generation of lifters is learning to compete clean, technically, and with belief.
If the federation can translate these learnings into consistent support and scientific training, Indian weightlifting may yet find its next hero one strong enough to carry the bar, and the burden, that Mirabai Chanu has so valiantly lifted for over a decade.
