Raipur, March 26 -- For more than a decade, Mirabai Chanu has been the face of Indian weightlifting. During this period, she has bagged an impressive medal haul that includes a Tokyo Olympics silver, three World Championship medals and three Commonwealth Games podium finishes. Yet one achievement continues to elude the Manipuri lifter -- a medal at the Asian Games.

Mirabai first competed in the continental showpiece at the age of 19, finishing ninth at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. She was later forced to withdraw from the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta due to a back injury that disrupted her preparations, according to a press release.

The closest she came to a medal was at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, where a hip injury dashed her...