Like father, like son: Valluri Ajay Babu enhances family legacy with CWG silver

ByTech Word News

Sixteen years after his father stood on the podium at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Valluri Ajaya Babu etched his name into Indian sporting lore on Monday night with a dramatic silver medal in the men’s 79kg weightlifting event after an extraordinary, record-breaking bout at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. CWG Day 5 Highlights

The 21-year-old from Andhra Pradesh lifted a cumulative total of 330kg (149kg snatch + 181kg clean and jerk), coming just one kilogram short of gold medalist Erra Hidayat Muhammad of Malaysia in the final, which saw the Commonwealth Games record repeatedly broken within minutes. The bronze medal was won by Englishman Chris Murray with a total weight of 325 kg.

The silver marks India’s sixth weightlifting medal at the Glasgow Games, but for Ajay Baba, the triumph has a deeper generational resonance.

Ajaya Babu hails from Kondavelagada, a small village in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh, known for its deep-rooted weightlifting heritage and traditional stone-lifting culture. His father, Valluri Srinivasa Ra, a former international weightlifter who works in floriculture, won a bronze medal in the 56kg division at the Delhi Games in 2010. 16 years later, under the tutelage and initial guidance of his father, the younger Valluri went a step further on the Commonwealth stage.

A THRILLING FINALE

Valluri Ajay Babu misses gold medal by 1kg (Screengrab from Glasgow 2026)

Ajaya Babu began his campaign in the catch section with clinical authority, clearing his opening weight of 145kg comfortably. After failing in his second attempt at 149kg, the Indian showed remarkable composure under pressure and returned to the platform in his final attempt to successfully lift 149kg. The lift set a new Commonwealth Games record and put him atop the rankings heading into the interval, ahead of Murray (148kg) and Muhammad (147kg).

During the clean and jerk event, the match reached a fever pitch as the battle for the gold turned into a direct tactical showdown between the Indian and his Malaysian counterpart.

Muhammad originally set a new Games record by lifting 181 kg. Moments later, Ajaya Babu responded on his final attempt and equaled 181kg with a clean and jerk and briefly retook the lead with a record total of 330kg. However, Mohamed had one final answer, successfully lifting 184kg for the final lift of the competition to finish with a winning total of 331kg.

Start recording. Silver finish.

A total weight of 330 kg leads Valluri Ajay Babu to silver in men’s 79 kg weightlifting.

His catch of 149kg briefly became a Commonwealth Games record as he finished just 1kg short of the gold.

Watch Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2026 LIVE and pic.twitter.com/WLXUN7R3hu— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 27, 2026

The performance cements Ajay Babu’s rapid rise up the international rankings. After booking his ticket to Glasgow by winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships in Ahmedabad with a best total of 335kg, the youngster systematically built on his junior successes – which included a double gold campaign in both the junior and senior categories at the 2024 Commonwealth Championships in Fiji.

Ajay Babu’s silver medal in Glasgow narrowly missed out on the top podium, but it not only takes India’s star weightlifting momentum forward but also enhances a precious family legacy built across two generations.

6 Indian weightlifting medalists at CWG 2026

  • Mirabai Chanu – Gold (Women’s 48kg)
  • Valluri Ajaya Babu – Silver (Men’s 79kg)
  • Gyaneshwari Yadav – Silver (Women’s 53kg)
  • Chanambam Rishikanta Singh – Silver (Men’s 60kg)
  • Muthupandi Raja – Silver (Men’s 65kg)
  • Bindyarani Devi – Bronze (Women’s 58kg)

– The end

Issued by:

Akshay Ramesh

Published on:

28 Jul 2026 06:30 IST