Glasgow [Scotland], July 29 : Indian weightlifter Harjinder Kaur continued the country's impressive run on the platform at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, claiming the silver medal in the women's 69kg category with a career-best total of 227kg on Tuesday night in Glasgow.
The Punjab lifter delivered a composed and consistent performance, registering 101kg in the snatch and 126kg in the clean and jerk to finish second behind Canada's Charlotte Simoneau, who secured the gold medal with a total lift of 235kg (108kg in snatch and 127kg in clean and jerk), according to ESPN.
Harjinder was one of the standout performers of the competition, rewriting the Commonwealth Games record twice during the snatch competition. After successfully opening with 96kg, she cleared 99kg to establish a new Games mark before improving it again with a superb lift of 101kg on her final attempt.
Her record-breaking effort kept her firmly in contention for gold heading into the clean and jerk.
The Indian opened the second phase confidently with a successful lift of 120kg, briefly moving into the top position and piling pressure on her Canadian rival. She later completed a 126kg lift to finish with a personal-best total of 227kg, comfortably securing the silver medal.
Although Simoneau eventually reclaimed the lead with a decisive final lift to seal gold, Harjinder's performance marked one of the finest outings of her career and underlined India's growing strength in weightlifting at the Glasgow Games.
The silver medal also represented an upgrade from her bronze medal-winning finish at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, making Glasgow her second successive Commonwealth Games podium appearance.
Born on October 14, 1996, in Nabha, Punjab, Harjinder has steadily established herself among India's leading weightlifters. Her latest achievement further strengthened India's medal haul in weightlifting, which has emerged as one of the country's most successful disciplines at the ongoing Commonwealth Games.
India has enjoyed a strong campaign in Glasgow, winning 11 medals so far -- two gold, six silver and three bronze.
India's medallists are Mirabai Chanu (gold, weightlifting), Sharmila Dhankar (gold, women's shot put F57), Rishikanta Singh (silver, weightlifting), Muthupandi Raja (silver, weightlifting), Gyaneshwari Yadav (silver, weightlifting), Sarvesh Kushare (silver, men's high jump), Harjinder Kaur (silver, weightlifting), Valluri Ajaya Babu (silver, weightlifting), Bindyarani Devi (bronze, weightlifting), Shilpa K. Shyla (bronze, women's shot put F57) and Jhandu Kumar (bronze, para powerlifting).