Raja Muthupandi brought India’s second silver and fourth medal in the Commonwealth Games 2026, as he secured the medal in the men’s 65kg weightlifting event on Sunday.
Raja Muthupandi had a rough start in both the snatch and clean & jerk events before making a solid comeback, mounting a strong challenge and snatching the silver medal.
Raja Muthupandi shined despite imperfect starts
Muthupandi failed on his first snatch attempt of 126 kg but successfully lifted it on his second attempt. However, on his third attempt, he couldn’t lift 129 kg. He finished the snatch round in second position, behind Malaysian Aznil Bidin, who lifted 130 kg and 133 kg but failed the 135 kg lift.
In the clean & jerk round, Muthupandi once again failed his first attempt at the 158 kg lift, but his second attempt was successful at the 160 kg lift. He chose the 170 kg lift for his third attempt, but it remained unsuccessful, as the Indian weightlifter accumulated 286 kg (126 kg + 160 kg). While his position was strong enough for the top 2 positions, securing a medal, the gold medalist, Malaysian Aznil Bidin, finished the competition strongly.
After successfully lifting 162 kg and 166 kg on his first two clean & jerk attempts, the Malaysian weightlifter was unsuccessful on his 170 kg lift attempt, but he still managed to set the Games record in total with 299 kg (133 kg + 166 kg). Morea Baru from Papua New Guinea won the bronze medal after scoring 282 kg total (125 kg + 157 kg).
Who is Raja Muthupandi?
Hailing from Sathuvachari in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, Muthupandi is growing as another top Indian talent in weightlifting, despite suffering a career-threatening injury. In the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, he won the silver medal, which was his first international medal at the senior level. He previously represented India in the CWG in the 2018 edition in the men’s 62kg event, where he finished in sixth place.
Do You Know
In international competition, Muthupandi’s record total in the men’s 65 kg event is 299 kg, including a 130 kg lift in snatch and a 169 kg lift in clean & jerk, which he recorded in the 2025 IWF World Championships.
