Ajaya Babu wins silver medal in men''s 79kg weightlifting

<p> Glasgow, Jul 28 (PTI): Fast-rising Indian weightlifter Valluri Ajaya Babu produced a remarkable performance to win the silver medal in the men's 79kg category and continue the country's successful run in the sport at the ongoing Commonwealth Games here.</p><p> The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district lifted a Games record 149kg in snatch and 181kg in clean and jerk for a total of 330kg to win the second prize, narrowly missing out on gold to Malaysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad, who totalled a Games record 331kg (147 + 184) during a gripping contest on Monday night.</p><p> This was India's sixth medal in weightlifting in the current edition of the Games.</p><p> England's Chris Murray settled for bronze with a total of 325.</p><p> First, Hidayat lifted 181kg to smash the Games record, the Indian then bettered it within seconds by lifting 181kg in his final attempt to break the record again for 330kg.</p><p> Hidayat did one better, breaking the record again with a lift of 184kg in his final attempt to win the gold medal.</p><p> Earlier, after a failed second attempt at 149kg, Ajaya Babu made a fine comeback to lift the weight in his final try and set a new Games record, finishing at the top of the heap at the end of snatch section ahead of England's Chris Murray (148kg) and Malaysia's Erry Hidayat Muhammad (147kg).</p><p> He had 145kg listed as his first attempt and nailed it too easily.</p><p> Entering the clean and jerk section on a high, Ajaya Babu looked confident of winning the top prize but his opponent from Malaysia edged the Indian out eventually.</p><p> Seen as one of India's fastest-growing lifters, Ajaya Babu had in the past won the gold medal in the men's 79kg category at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad with a personal-best total lift of 335kg (152kg snatch + 183kg clean & jerk), breaking the championship records.</p><p> That performance earned him his direct qualification spot for Glasgow 2026.</p><p> In the 2024 Commonwealth Championships, he secured double gold medals across both the junior and senior divisions in the men's 81kg category in Suva, Fiji.</p><p> After that, in the 2025 World Championships, the youngster was placed 16th overall in a highly competitive 39-lifter field in Forde, Norway. PTI AH AH ATK</p><p><i>(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)</i></p>

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