Fast-rising Indian weightlifter Valluri Ajaya Babu added another medal to India’s performance in the sport by winning a silver medal in the men’s 79kg category at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh’s Vizianagaram district broke the Commonwealth Games record by lifting 149kg in the snatch and 181kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 330kg. He was only one kilogram behind Malaysia’s Eli Hidayat Muhammad, who won the gold medal with an Olympic record total of 331 kilograms (147 kilograms in snatch + 184 kilograms in clean and jerk).England’s Chris Murray won the bronze medal with a total lift of 325kg.The gold medal match went into the clean and jerk finals. Hidayat first lifted 181 kilograms, setting a new Commonwealth Games record. Ajaya Babu then equaled and surpassed this mark, lifting 181kg in his final attempt, taking his total lift to 330kg. Hidayat lifted 184kg in his last attempt, successfully regaining the record and locking in the gold medal.Earlier in the snatch competition, Ajaya Babu bounced back after failing in her second attempt at 149kg. He lifted the same weight on his third and final attempt, setting a new Commonwealth Games record and finishing first in the snatch standings ahead of Chris Murray (148kg) and Eli Hidayat Mohammed (147kg).Ajaya Babu kicked off the competition by successfully lifting 145kg in the snatch competition and ended the section with a record lift.The silver medal is India’s sixth medal in weightlifting at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.Ajaya Babu has been among the top weightlifters in India in recent years. At the 2025 Ahmedabad Commonwealth Championships, he won the men’s 79kg gold medal with a personal best of 335kg (snatch 152kg + clean and jerk 183kg), setting a new championship record. This performance earned him direct qualification for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.He won the gold medal in the men’s 81kg and senior categories at the 2024 Commonwealth Championships in Suva, Fiji.He also competed in the 2025 World Championships in Foord, Norway, finishing 16th overall among 39 weightlifters.
