China Tops Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships 2026 with 41 Medals; North Korea finishes second with 30; S Korea 11, India 10

Gandhinagar, India, May 17, 2026: China emerged as the overall champion at the Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships 2026, topping the medal tally with a commanding haul of 41 medals, including 21 gold, 12 silver and 8 bronze, as the six-day continental event concluded successfully at Mahatma Mandir Exhibition Hall-1 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

North Korea finished second with 30 medals, comprising 18 gold, 11 silver and 1 bronze, while Chinese Taipei secured the third position with 13 medals, including 3 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze. Bahrain followed with 6 medals, including 3 gold and 3 silver, while Iran stood fifth with 4 medals, comprising 2 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. The event was successfully organised by the India Weightlifting Federation (IWLF).

Medals Tally: Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships 2026

Host nation India finished 11th in the medal tally with 10 medals, including 1 silver and 9 bronze. However, India produced a much stronger showing in the team rankings, finishing third in the women’s team championship and fifth in the men’s team championship, reflecting a competitive overall performance on home soil.

China also dominated the team championships. In the women’s section, China topped the table with 578 points, followed by Chinese Taipei with 491 points, while India finished third with 487 points. Sri Lanka secured fourth place with 412 points, Bangladesh stood fifth with 395 points, and Korea finished sixth with 352 points.

In the men’s team championship, China finished first with 593 points, followed by DPR Korea with 478 points and Uzbekistan with 409 points. Chinese Taipei took fourth place with 392 points, while India finished fifth with 379 points, ahead of Turkmenistan, which secured 344 points.

The championship also drew significant participation from across Asia. According to the official figures, 30 nations competed in the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships, with 172 athletes, including 97 men and 75 women, taking part across men’s and women’s categories. The event featured eight women’s bodyweight categories and seven men’s bodyweight categories.

Excluding host India, Kuwait sent the biggest foreign contingent of players, fielding 18 athletes at the championship. It was followed by Sri Lanka, China and Chinese Taipei, each of which sent 16 players, making them the next-largest foreign player contingents at the Gandhinagar event.

Among other major participating countries, DPR Korea and Korea fielded 11 athletes each, while Bangladesh and Malaysia sent 9 players each. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were represented by 6 players each, while Singapore sent 5 athletes.

The next group included Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Saudi Arabia, each with 4 players, followed by Oman and the UAE, which fielded 3 athletes each. Several countries, including Brunei, Philippines, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar and Hong Kong, sent 2 players each, while Syria, Australia, New Zealand, Lebanon, Japan and Maldives had 1 player each.

The championship witnessed an exceptional standard of competition, with athletes creating 25 new world records and 27 new Asian records, underlining the depth and quality of Asian weightlifting.

Among the individual honours, Ri Suk of DPR Korea was named the Women’s Best Lifter after scoring 1013.191 ROBI points in the 63kg category. In the men’s section, HE Yueji of China was adjudged the Men’s Best Lifter with 1052.189 ROBI points in the 65kg category.

The final day saw the successful completion of the women’s +86kg category, followed by the official closing ceremony attended by officials of the Asian Weightlifting Federation, international delegates, athletes, coaches and sports administrators.

Calling the successful hosting of the championship a proud moment for Indian weightlifting and Indian sport, Ashwani Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, Indian Weightlifting Federation, said the event showcased exceptional standards, several world and Asian records, and remarkable participation from the continent’s finest athletes.

He also thanked the international technical officials, volunteers and the Government of Gujarat for their support, while noting that Indian athletes displayed “tremendous fighting spirit” and delivered commendable performances on home soil.

The successful conduct of the Asian Senior Weightlifting Championships 2026 in Gandhinagar not only strengthened India’s position as a growing venue for major international weightlifting events but also highlighted the widening competitive base of the sport across Asia, with China’s dominance, North Korea’s strong medal performance and Kuwait’s large player contingent standing out as key takeaways from the championship.