Indian weightlifter Raja Muthupandi from Tamil Nadu won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, adding another podium finish for the country in weightlifting.
Competing in the men’s 65kg category, Muthupandi lifted a combined total of 286kg, registering 126kg in snatch and 160kg in clean and jerk to secure second place. Malaysia’s Ashnil bin Bidin Mohamed took gold with a 299kg total.
Reacting to the result, Muthupandi said he did not bring out his full gold-medal potential and felt his performance fell short of what he achieved in training. Still, he said the silver medal made him happy and thanked the Sports Authority of India, the weightlifting federation and his coach Vijay Sharma for their support.
At the end of Day 4, India stood eighth on the medals table with four medals—one gold, two silver and one bronze. Notably, three of these medals have come from weightlifting.
In a statement congratulating the athlete from Thoothukudi district, Chief Minister Vijay announced that the Tamil Nadu government would award Muthupandi an incentive of Rs 30 lakh, calling his achievement an inspiration for youth.
