Raja Muthupandi Highlights, Commonwealth Games: Tamil Nadu Weightlifter Wins Silver Medal With 286kg Lift

Hello and welcome back! We're here with another live blog as India's star weightlifter Raja Muthupandi takes centre stage in the men's 65kg final at the Commonwealth Games 2026. Stay with us for live updates, lift-by-lift action, results and all the key moments from Glasgow.

Weightlifting: Mirabai Chanu delivered a stellar performance to claim the gold medal in the women’s 48kg final, while teammate Rishikanta Singh secured a hard-fought silver in the men’s 60kg final.

Swimming: The quartet of Srihari Nataraj, Aryan Nehra, Aneesh Gowda, and Dhakshan Shashikumar finished third in their heats for the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay, successfully advancing to the final.

Gymnastics: Tapan Mohanty put up a commendable effort to finish 15th overall in a competitive men’s all-around artistic gymnastics final.

Bowls: It was a challenging outing on the greens as Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh narrowly dropped a tight 0-3 tiebreak against Namibia in women’s pairs sectional play, while Putul Sonowal fell short against Malta's Shaun James Parnis in the men’s singles.

Raja Muthupandi overcame a career-threatening right elbow ligament tear sustained at the 2019 Commonwealth Championships, which required surgery, a long rehabilitation, and caused him to narrowly miss selection for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Having fully recovered from those setbacks, the Tamil Nadu weightlifter has returned to peak form, capturing the senior national title and arriving as a strong medal contender.

Raja Muthupandi secured the silver medal in the men's 65kg final at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships with a combined total of 296kg, consisting of 128kg in the snatch and 168kg in the clean and jerk. Although he put up a strong performance, he missed out on the gold medal by just a single kilogram to Malaysia's Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin.

Raja Muthupandi heads into the Commonwealth Games 2026 in career-defining form following a stellar run of international and domestic performances. Except for the silver medal at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad with a 296kg total, he also secured an impressive ninth-place finish at the World Championships in Forde, Norway, where he set a new personal best of 299kg. He further cemented his dominance on the domestic front by capturing the senior national title with a formidable 302kg total.

World No. 3 Preeti Pawar kicked off her campaign in style, securing a commanding second-round referee-stopped-contest (RSC) victory over Malawi’s Deborah Mtenje in the women’s 54kg Round of 16.

Though she took a brief moment to find her range in the opening exchanges, Pawar quickly asserted her dominance, landing the cleaner shots to sweep the first round unanimously with all five judges scoring it 10-9 in her favor. She wasted no time in the second round, catching Mtenje with a sharp, clean left hand to the cheek that prompted the referee to step in and halt the bout, sealing a swift and impressive progression to the next round.

India’s campaign in the women’s pairs came to a dramatic and heartbreaking end following a tense tiebreak defeat to England.

Trailing in the tight encounter, Pinki delivered a brilliant final bowl to position India right beside the jack and spark hopes of a comeback. However, England’s Sian Honnor responded with a moment of sheer brilliance, executing a sensational last bowl that kissed Pinki’s effort to edge inches forward and secure the decisive shot.

The narrow miss seals a thrilling win for England, eliminating the Indian pair from the competition.

The high-octane action in Glasgow shows no signs of slowing down, with more thrilling contests lined up.

Indian weightlifter Raja Muthupandi is gearing up for his much-anticipated campaign, though he will have to wait a little longer before taking the stage. Signaling his intent as a major heavyweight contender, his opening attempt in the snatch is set at a formidable 125kg—the second heaviest starting weight listed in the field.

Raja Muthupandi endured a nervy start after failing to lift 126kg on his opening attempt, but he made no mistake on his second try to get safely on the board. While it was a gritty, hard-fought lift from the Tamil Nadu weightlifter, it temporarily puts him in the lead, though Malaysia's Aznil Muhamed is yet to enter the fray.

Raja Muthupandi saw his 129kg attempt slip away, leaving him with a best lift of 126kg in the snatch. The Tamil Nadu lifter briefly held the lead before Malaysia’s Muhamad Aznil Bin Bidin powered through with a 130kg lift, establishing a new Commonwealth Games record.

Malaysia’s Aznil Muhamad is putting on a dominant display, blowing away the field by lifting 133kg to set another Commonwealth Games record and open up a commanding 7kg lead over Raja Muthupandi.

Behind the runaway leader, the battle for podium positions remains fierce and tightly contested: Muthupandi sits second with his snatch of 126kg, just 1kg ahead of Papua New Guinea's Morea Baru (125kg) and 4kg clear of Nigeria's Favour Agboro (122kg).

Having safely posted a clean 126kg lift in the snatch, Raja Muthupandi is setting his sights high for the second half of the competition, calling for a heavy 160kg on his first attempt in the clean and jerk.

Raja Muthupandi suffered a setback on his first clean and jerk attempt, failing to successfully hoist the heavy 158kg barbell as he looks to rebound in his upcoming lifts.

After missing his opening attempt at 158kg, Raja Muthupandi roared back with a superb, successful lift of 160kg in the clean and jerk.

The Tamil Nadu weightlifter currently sits in the lead, though the competition is far from over: Papua New Guinea's Morea Baru still has two attempts remaining, while Malaysian superstar Aznil Muhamad has all three of his clean and jerk lifts left in reserve.

Raja Muthupandi delivered a brilliant performance to secure the silver medal for India with a combined total of 286kg.

Malaysia's Aznil Bin Bidin Muhamed captured the gold medal with a stunning Commonwealth Games record total of 299kg. Marking his third consecutive CWG gold, Aznil joined Mirabai Chanu as the second weightlifter of the day to claim top honors, writing his name into history across Gold Coast, Birmingham, and Glasgow.

The 26-year-old weightlifter has mounted a stunning career comeback. Making his Commonwealth Games debut back in 2018 at Gold Coast where he finished sixth in the 62kg category, Raja faced a major career threat in 2019 due to an elbow ligament injury and pandemic-disrupted rehab, compounded by a move to the 67kg division ruled by India's Jeremy Lalrinnunga.

While Jeremy's 2022 Birmingham gold kept Raja on the sidelines, the Mizoram athlete's subsequent drop in form opened the door for a resurgence. Dropping to the 65kg class, Raja seized his opportunity by capturing the national title with an incredible 302kg total, culminating in a triumphant silver medal finish at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.