Raja Muthupandi has once again shown why he’s considered one of India’s top weightlifters, putting on an impressive performance at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow. If you’re curious about who Raja Muthupandi is, this talented lifter from Tamil Nadu has forged his path through sheer determination, overcoming injuries and health challenges along the way.
In the men’s 65kg weightlifting final, he shone brightly, clinching the silver medal with a total lift of 286kg. After nailing a 126kg snatch, Muthupandi turned his focus to the clean and jerk, where he delivered another strong lift that kept him in the hunt for a medal, adding to India’s success at the Games.
At just 26 years old, he faced a tough moment during the clean and jerk when he missed his first attempt at 158kg. But he quickly regrouped and executed a solid 160kg lift, bringing his total to 286kg. Malaysia’s Aznil Bidin took home the gold with a record-breaking lift of 299kg, while Muthupandi’s impressive performance secured another silver medal for India in Glasgow.
Raja Muthupandi's Road To Commonwealth Games 2026 Silver
Career setbacks
In 2019, he suffered a serious ligament tear in his right elbow during the snatch event at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships. The injury required surgery and came just before the COVID-19 pandemic, delaying his recovery. He had to leave the national camp and continue rehabilitation privately before returning to competition.
His comeback began at the 2021 National Championships, where he finished third. However, that was not enough to secure a place in India's squad for the 2022 Commonwealth Games. His struggles continued when he was diagnosed with jaundice and later underwent surgery for appendicitis in 2022. Those health issues kept him away from training for almost 10 months. At one stage, he even considered walking away from the sport before deciding to continue his career.
Comeback
Muthupandi managed to get back to his best performance levels and won one of the most successful championships in his life - the 20th Senior National Weightlifting Championships in Modinagar in February 2026. In the men's 65kg category, Muthupandi became the national champion by winning gold and setting a new national record for weightlifters with a 302kg total (130kg snatch and 172kg clean and jerk).
His success was preceded by his silver at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad in 2025 with 296kg total (128kg snatch and 168kg clean and jerk), as well as by finishing 9th at the World Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway, where he achieved his personal best total of 299kg (130kg snatch and 169kg clean and jerk), taking fifth position in the category of clean and jerk. These achievements helped him become one of the main medal winners in India, and his silver at the Commonwealth Games 2026 proved it once again.
