21-year-old Valluri Ajaya Babu from Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagram district won the silver medal in men's 79kg category on July 27 at Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026. The young Indian weightlifter lifted a Games record of 149kg in snatch and 181kg in clean and jerk. His total of 330kg was just one kg behind gold medal winner, Mayalysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad. The Malaysian registered a Games record with a total of 331kg including 147kg in snatch and 184kg in clean and jerk.
Ajaya Babu's medal was India's sixth at the Games. It was also India's third on the day after Gyaneshwari Yadav's silver and Bindyarani Devi's bronze medal.
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Earlier, Ajaya Babu had lifted 145kg in his first attempt without breaking a sweat. He was unable to lift 149kg. After an unsuccessful second attempt, he set the Games record by lifting 149kg. England's Chris Murray was right behind with 148kg snatch, one more than gold medal winner Hidayat. Murray registered a total of 325kg and won the bronze medal.
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In the clean and jerk section, he could not better Hidayat's record-breaking lift of 184kg at the Games. Earlier, both Hidayat and Ajaya Babu had set the games record with their respective 181kg lifts.
Family’s bronze turns silver but Ajaya Babu not convinced
After the silver medal win, Ajaya Babu feels he could’ve done better. He admitted he erred during the snatch round. He draws inspiration from his father Valluri Srinivasa Rao who won a bronze medal in Delhi Commonwealth Games 2010. He rues missing out on the gold and aims to do better in the future.
"I think I could have performed better. I made a mistake in the snatch, and I will work on correcting it in future competitions. I dedicate this medal to the Indian Weightlifting Federation, my coaches, the support staff, and my father. I took up weightlifting after watching my father, who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He has always been my inspiration. Our dream was to win the gold medal. We could not achieve it this time, but I will train harder and do everything possible to win gold in the future," the young weightlifter told ANI after the match.
What is Ajaya Babu’s best?
This was not Ajaya Babu's best. In 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad, he lifted a total of 335kg including 152kg in snatch and 183kg in clean and jerk. He broke the championship records to win the gold medal.