India's Raja Muthupandi wins silver in men's 65kg weightlifting at Commonwealth Games

The Tamil Nadu weightlifter falls short of expectations in men’s 65kg; Malaysia’s Aznil bags his third successive gold at the quadrennial event with a Games record

Published: July 27, 2026 06:03 pm IST – Glasgow By: K. Keerthivasan

Returning to the Commonwealth stage after an eight-year gap, Raja earned his first medal at the Games. | Photo Credit: AP

Throughout his interaction with the Indian media on Sunday night after winning the silver medal in the men’s 65kg weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games, held at the Scottish Event Campus, Raja Muthupandi remained glum.

Tipped by Indian head coach Vijay Sharma as one of the country’s bright medal prospects, the Tamil Nadu lifter finished with a total of 286kg — 13kg behind Malaysia’s Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin. Aznil clinched his third successive gold at the quadrennial event with a Games record of 299kg.

The 26-year-old Raja, son of a truck loader and an employee of Southern Railway, never looked at his best on the stage. He successfully completed only two of his six attempts:

• Snatch: 126kg (successful on second attempt; failed on first attempt at 126kg and third attempt at 129kg)
• Clean and Jerk: 160kg (successful on second attempt; failed on first attempt at 158kg and third attempt at 170kg)

In contrast, Aznil produced a flawless display, setting Games records in the snatch (133kg), clean and jerk (166kg), and total (299kg).

Raja did not shy away from admitting his disappointment.

“My (Indian team) coach Vijay Sharma believed I could give my best for the gold. But I couldn’t deliver,” he said.

For Raja, who took up weightlifting in 2012 at Sankaralingapuram in Kovilpatti and has been training at the National camp in Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, alongside Mirabai Chanu for the past two years, the silver medal was difficult to digest.

A regular at the National camp since 2016, Raja has steadily grown into one of India’s better lifters. Expectations were high after his National record-breaking performance at the Senior Nationals in Modinagar in February, where he lifted a total of 302kg (130kg in snatch and 172kg in clean and jerk).

Raja had finished sixth on his Commonwealth Games debut at Gold Coast in 2018 before an injury ruled him out of the Birmingham Games in 2022. Returning to the Commonwealth stage after an eight-year gap, Raja finally earned his first medal at the Games. Yet, with the gold slipping away, the silver left him with mixed emotions — a bitter-sweet memory that will possibly serve as motivation.

Published: July 27, 2026 06:03 pm IST