Who Is Raja Muthupandi: Indian Weightlifter Who Clinched Silver At Commonwealth Games 2026

India's Raja Muthupandi won the silver medal in men's 65kg weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow on Monday. He lifted 126kg in snatch and then followed it up with 160kg in clean and jerk to take his total to 286kg. The gold went to Malaysia's Aznil Bidin with a Commonwealth Games record total of 299kg. This was the third weightlifting medal of the day for India after Rishikanta Singh Chanambam won silver and Mirabai Chanu clinched a historic gold medal. This also took India's tally at the Commonwealth Games to 4 medals - 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze.

Who is Raja Muthupandi?

Raja suffered a career-threatening injury but overcame it to become one of India's top lifters. The breakthrough season came in 2025 when he won the silver medal at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad. He impressed everyone with his brilliant performance as he lifted a personal best of 296kg (128kg snatch + 168kg clean and jerk).

The 27-year-old from Tamil Nadu was quite impressive at the World Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway where he finished 9th in the 65kg division. He lifted a personal best of 299 kg (130kg snatch + 169kg clean and jerk). 

Back in 2019, he suffered a ligament tear in his right elbow during the 2019 Commonwealth Championships and it led to surgery. The youngster was sidelined for quite some time before eventually returning at the 2021 National Championships.

He also went on to clinch the senior national title in 2026 with a 302kg total.

Featured Video Of The Day