Star Indian weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will bulk up to the 53kg category for the 2028 Olympics after her weight class was eliminated.
Chanu had taken home the silver medal in the 49 kg division at the Tokyo Olympics. However, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to expand the number of weightlifting events to 12, the lowest category for women at the 2028 LA Games is now 53 kg.
Chief national coach Vijay Sharma believes that Chanu will benefit from bulking up to 53 kg, but he also stated that the Manipuri will stay in her previous weight class till the Asian Games next year.
“This (removal of 49kg) is a good thing for Mirabai because cutting down her weight to 48kg was a taxing process,” Sharma said.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), in a statement late Monday, said, “Following the encouraging decision taken by the IOC to enlarge the weightlifting programme at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 – where 12 events (six men, six women) will be contested.”
In less than a year, the IWF has altered the classifications twice.
After the IWF eliminated the 49kg division from the Olympics earlier this year, Chanu moved to the 48kg division. The 49kg class will not compete in the Olympics, although being reintroduced for IWF competitions like the World Championships.
In the 48 kg division this year, Chanu won a silver medal at the World Championships and a gold at the Commonwealth Championships.
Until the Asian Games next year, the 31-year-old will keep competing in the 48kg/49kg division. She will then have two years to progressively advance to the 53kg division in order to get ready for the Olympics.
Chanu has discussed the physical burden of keeping a body weight of 48 kg on multiple occasions. She will be able to gain more muscle mass in a heavier weight class.
“Right now, she will continue in the same weight class till the Asian Games, after that we will begin the process of changing the weight to 53kg,” Sharma added.
Men will compete in the weight classes of 65 kg, 75 kg, 85 kg, 95 kg, 110 kg, and +110 kg, while women will compete in 53 kg, 61 kg, 69 kg, 77 kg, 86 kg, and +86 kg.
A new set of 16 IWF bodyweight divisions, slightly modified, includes the Olympic categories. The new classifications will take effect on August 1, 2026.
“The new categories were proposed by the IWF Technical Committee, and were provisionally approved by the IWF Executive Board in its last meeting in Forde (NOR), with the occasion of the 2025 IWF World Championships. They became official after the ratification by the IWF Athletes Commission,” the IWF said.
Women participated in weight classes of 49 kg, 59 kg, 71 kg, 81 kg, and +81 kg at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, while men competed in weight classes of 61 kg, 73 kg, 89 kg, 102 kg, and +102 kg.
