Like father, like son: Valluri Ajaya Babu upgrades family legacy with CWG silver
Sixteen years after his father stood on the Commonwealth Games podium in Delhi, Valluri Ajaya Babu etched his own name into Indian sporting lore on Monday night, capturing a dramatic silver medal in the men’s 79kg weightlifting event after an extraordinary, record-breaking duel at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. CWG Day 5 Highlights
The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh lifted a cumulative total of 330kg (149kg snatch + 181kg clean and jerk), missing out on the gold medal by just a single kilogram to Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad in a final that saw the Commonwealth Games record broken repeatedly within minutes. England’s Chris Murray took the bronze medal with a 325kg total.
The silver represents India’s sixth weightlifting medal of the Glasgow Games, but for Ajaya Babu, the triumph carries a deeper generational resonance.
Ajaya Babu hails from Kondavelagada, a tiny village in the Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh renowned for its deep-rooted weightlifting heritage and traditional stone-lifting culture. His father, Valluri Srinivasa Ra, —a former international lifter who works in flower cultivation, secured a bronze medal in the 56kg division at the 2010 Delhi Games. 16 years later, under the tutelage and initial guidance of his father, the younger Valluri went one step further on the Commonwealth stage.
A PULSATING FINAL
Ajaya Babu opened his campaign in the snatch section with clinical authority, comfortably clearing his opening weight of 145kg. After failing his second attempt at 149kg, the Indian displayed remarkable composure under pressure, returning to the platform on his final try to successfully hoist 149kg. The lift set a new Commonwealth Games record and placed him at the top of the standings heading into the interval, ahead of Murray (148kg) and Muhammad (147kg).
The contest reached a fever pitch during the clean and jerk discipline as the battle for gold turned into a direct tactical showdown between the Indian and his Malaysian counterpart.
Muhammad initially set a new Games record total by lifting 181kg. Moments later, Ajaya Babu responded on his final attempt, matching the 181kg clean and jerk to briefly retake the lead with a record total of 330kg. However, Muhammad had one final response, successfully hoisting 184kg on the ultimate lift of the competition to finish with a winning total of 331kg.
The performance cements Ajaya Babu’s rapid ascent through the international ranks. Having earned his ticket to Glasgow by winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad with a lifetime best total of 335kg, the youngster has systematically built upon his junior success—which included a double gold sweep across both junior and senior categories at the 2024 Commonwealth Championships in Fiji.
While narrowly missing out on the top step of the podium, Ajaya Babu’s silver medal in Glasgow not only advances India’s stellar weightlifting momentum but also upgrades a cherished family legacy built across two generations.
India’s 6 Weightlifting Medallists at CWG 2026
- Mirabai Chanu — Gold (Women’s 48kg)
- Valluri Ajaya Babu — Silver (Men’s 79kg)
- Gyaneshwari Yadav — Silver (Women’s 53kg)
- Chanambam Rishikanta Singh — Silver (Men’s 60kg)
- Muthupandi Raja — Silver (Men’s 65kg)
- Bindyarani Devi — Bronze (Women’s 58kg)
– Ends
