New Delhi [India], August 2 (ANI): Indian weightlifters Valluri Ajaya Babu and Muthupandi Raja, who returned to the national capital on Sunday, reflected on their medal-winning performances at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026, with both athletes already setting their sights on future competitions.
Ajaya Babu secured silver in the men’s 79kg category and said he was pleased with his performance despite narrowly missing out on the gold medal by one kilogram.
“I feel good because I’ve put in a strong performance at the Commonwealth Games. It is disappointing that I missed the gold by just one kilogram–but I’ll try to do better next time,” Ajaya Babu told ANI.
The weightlifter also revealed his plans for the next major events, saying he would work towards qualifying for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
“I’ll be preparing to qualify for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and the LA28 Games,” he added.
Meanwhile, Raja Muthupandi won silver in the men’s 65kg weightlifting event and described the achievement as a memorable milestone, calling it his first medal.
“It feels really good after winning silver at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. I had aimed for gold; I felt a bit disappointed that I didn’t perform well enough to secure it. However, I’m still happy because this is my first medal,” Muthupandi told ANI.
The weightlifter also expressed happiness at receiving a warm welcome after returning from Glasgow and said the support from fans and well-wishers was motivating. Muthupandi added that he would work with his coach to begin preparations for the 2028 Olympic qualification rounds.
“It feels wonderful to see everyone here; having people come out to welcome us after winning the medal makes us feel great. We will plan with our coach and start preparing for the 2028 Olympics qualification rounds,” he added.
On winning the silver medal in the women’s 69kg category, weightlifter Harjinder Kaur told reporters, “I am feeling very good. Last time I won the bronze medal, and this time I won the silver medal. There was improvement in the overall training, and I hope that I perform better in future competitions.”
On winning the Bronze medal in the Women’s 58kg category, Bindyarani Devi Sorokhaibam said, “I am very happy to see that everyone has come here to welcome us. I aim to perform better in the upcoming competitions…”
India’s medal winners in weightlifting at the Commonwealth Games 2026 included Mirabai Chanu, who won gold in the women’s 48kg category.
Gyaneshwari Yadav and Harjinder Kaur secured silver medals in the women’s 53kg and 69kg categories, respectively, while Rishikanta Singh, Muthupandi Raja, Valluri Ajaya Babu and Lovepreet Singh also won silver medals in the men’s 60kg, 65kg, 79kg and +110kg categories, respectively. Bindyarani Devi added a bronze medal in the women’s 58kg category. (ANI)
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