Now Reading: Ajaya Babu clinches Commonwealth silver, betters father’s bronze
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Ajaya Babu clinches Commonwealth silver, betters father’s bronze
Ajaya Babu won silver in the men’s 79kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, improving on the bronze his father Valluri Srinivasa Rao won in the 2010 edition. The…
The Story in Brief
Ajaya Babu won silver in the men’s 79kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, improving on the bronze his father Valluri Srinivasa Rao won in the 2010 edition. The 21-year-old from Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, lifted a total of 330kg, just 1kg behind Malaysia’s Muhammad Erry Hidayat, and set a Games record of 149kg in the snatch.
Ajaya dedicated the medal to his father, who was his first coach and inspiration. Rao, a bronze medallist in 2010, had begun weightlifting by lifting temple festival stones. The family now includes Ajaya’s younger brother Akhil, an 18-year-old national record holder, both training under their father with an eye on the Olympics.
The Indian Opinion
The Valluri family’s story is heartwarming, but it also reveals how India’s grassroots champions often succeed despite, not because of, the system. Ajaya had to surpass his father’s bronze through sheer family grit and army support, not a robust national pipeline. One good performance does not fix weightlifting’s infrastructure gap. The real test will come at the 2028 Olympics: can Ajaya and brother Akhil convert this momentum into a medal when it truly counts?
Sources (2): thehindu.com, newindianexpress.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
