Glasgow, July 29: India's remarkable run on the weightlifting platform continued at the Commonwealth Games 2026 as Harjinder Kaur clinched a silver medal in the women's 69kg category, giving the country its seventh medal in weightlifting and opening India's account for the day on Tuesday (July 28) in Glasgow. With this, India's medal tally reached 11 in the ongoing multi-sport competition.
The Punjab lifter produced a composed performance to finish with a total lift of 227kg (101kg snatch + 126kg clean & jerk), improving the colour of the bronze medal she had won in the 71kg category at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Canada's 21-year-old Charlotte Simoneau stole the spotlight with a sensational display, rewriting the Commonwealth Games
record books en route to the gold medal. Simoneau lifted 108kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean & jerk for a Games record total of 240kg, while Australia's Nya Phebe Hayman settled for bronze with 218kg.
Earlier in the day, India suffered a setback in the women's 63kg category as Nirupama Devi's medal hopes ended in disappointment. The Commonwealth Championships silver medallist was well placed after recording a best snatch of 93kg, leaving her within striking distance of the podium.
However, disaster struck in the clean and jerk, where she failed all three attempts at 123kg, resulting in a Did Not Finish (DNF). After Nirupama's heartbreaking exit, Harjinder Kaur ensured India returned to winning ways by opening the day's medal account with a silver in the women's 69kg category.
Harjinder Continues India's Weightlifting Dominance
India's weightlifters have been the country's biggest medal contributors at the Glasgow Games, and Harjinder ensured the momentum continued.
With her silver, India now has seven medals in weightlifting, reinforcing the sport's status as the nation's most successful discipline at the Games.
Harjinder stayed in contention throughout the competition. She successfully lifted 96kg and 99kg before completing 101kg in her third snatch attempt to head into the clean & jerk in second place.
The 28-year-old then cleared 120kg, 123kg, and finally 126kg in clean & jerk to finish with an aggregate of 227kg, comfortably securing the silver medal behind the dominant Canadian.
From Punjab's Fields to the Commonwealth Podium
Harjinder's journey is one of perseverance and resilience. Born in Mehas village near Nabha, Punjab, she grew up in a modest landless farming family where financial struggles were a part of everyday life. The family lived in a single-room house, and affording proper sports training was a constant challenge.
Ironically, it was her daily chores that laid the foundation for her sporting success. For years, Harjinder manually operated a heavy chaff-cutting machine (toka) to prepare fodder for cattle. The physically demanding work built the upper-body strength that would later become one of her greatest assets on the weightlifting platform.
Interestingly, weightlifting wasn't her first love. She initially trained as a kabaddi raider, cycling nearly five kilometres every day to attend practice. It was only in 2016, while studying at Punjabi University, Patiala, that she switched to weightlifting-a decision that transformed her sporting career.
Medal Colour Changes from Bronze to Silver
Harjinder's rise has been steady over the last few years. She won a silver medal at the 2021 Commonwealth Championships, followed it with a historic bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022, and later dominated the 2024 National Championships, where she set three national records in the 71kg category with a total lift of 223kg.
More recently, she claimed a snatch bronze medal at the 2026 Asian Weightlifting Championships, proving her consistency at the continental level.
In Glasgow, she went one step further by upgrading her Commonwealth Games bronze to silver, delivering another crucial medal for India.
The lifter has trained at the Sports Authority of India's National Centre of Excellence (NSNIS), Patiala, receiving continuous support through national coaching camps, international exposure tours, acclimatisation camps and financial assistance under the Annual Calendar for Training and Competition (ACTC) programme.
With Harjinder's silver, India's weightlifting contingent continues to exceed expectations, giving the nation yet another reason to celebrate at the Commonwealth Games.
