Ajaya Babu Valluri won gold while Harjinder Kaur lifted bronze as Indian weightlifters continued their medal run at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025 in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Competing in the men’s 79kg category, Ajaya Babu lifted a total of 335kg (152kg snatch+183kg clean and jerk) for the gold medal and edged past Malaysia’s Muhammad Erry 333kg (150kg+183kg) and Nigeria’s Adedapo Adeleke 306kg (141kg+165kg).
The gold medal also helped Ajaya Babu qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next year. The winners in each senior weightlifting category earn automatic spots for the Glasgow 2026 Games.
Ajaya Babu had a shaky start, missing his opening attempt at 148kg. However, he cleared the same weight on his second try. On his third attempt, Ajaya pushed himself further and successfully lifted 152kg, giving him the lead in snatch.
Ajaya was flawless in clean and jerk, registering all three lifts as valid. He began with 176kg, increased to 180kg on his second attempt, and sealed the gold with a strong 183kg in his final lift.
In the women’s 69kg final, Harjinder Kaur showed grit to secure the bronze with 222kg (99kg+123kg). After missing her opening snatch at 95kg, she steadied herself to clear the same weight on her second try. Her best of 99kg came off on the third attempt.
In clean and jerk, Harjinder recovered from an initial no-lift at 123kg to succeed on her second attempt before falling short at 128kg. Nigeria’s Islamiyat Adebukola claimed gold with 236kg (105kg + 131kg), while New Zealand’s Olivia Selemaia won silver with 223kg (100kg + 123kg).
The 30th edition of the championships features over 300 lifters from 31 nations.
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mirabai Chanu had kicked off India’s campaign on Monday, winning gold in the women’s 48kg and securing qualification for the next year’s Commonwealth Games.