India’s fast-rising weightlifter Valluri Ajaya Babu won the silver medal in the men’s 79kg category at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, adding another medal to India’s tally in the sport.The 21-year-old from Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh lifted a Commonwealth Games record 149kg in the snatch and 181kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 330kg. I finished just one kilogram behind Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad, who won gold with a total games record of 331 kg (147 kg snatch + 184 kg clean and jerk).England’s Chris Murray received the bronze medal with a total lift of 325 kg.The battle for gold came down to the final lifts in the clean and jerk. Hidayat first lifted 181kg to set a new Commonwealth Games record. Ajaya Babu met and bettered this effort by lifting 181 kg in his last attempt, taking his total to 330 kg. Hidayat responded with a successful lift of 184kg in his last attempt to reclaim the record and secure the gold medal.Before the snatch, Ajaya Babu recovered after failing his second attempt at 149 kg. He lifted the same weight in his third and final attempt to set a new Commonwealth Games record and finished first in the snatch standings ahead of Chris Murray (148kg) and Erry Hidayat Muhammad (147kg).Ajaya Babu opened the competition with a successful lift of 145kg in the snatch before ending the section with the record lift.The silver medal was India’s sixth medal in weightlifting at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.Ajaya Babu has been one of India’s best heavyweights in recent years. At the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad, he won gold in the men’s 79 kg category with a personal best total of 335 kg (152 kg snatch + 183 kg clean and jerk), setting new championship records. This performance earned him direct qualification for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.At the 2024 Commonwealth Championships in Suva, Fiji, he won gold medals in the junior and senior men’s 81 kg categories.He also participated in the 2025 World Championships in Forde, Norway, where he finished 16th overall in a field of 39 lifters.