India’s Harjinder Kaur produced a brilliant performance to win the women’s 69kg weightlifting silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, breaking Games records in both the snatch and clean and jerk
India’s Harjinder Kaur produced a brilliant performance to win the women’s 69kg weightlifting silver medal at the Commonwealth Games, breaking Games records in both the snatch and clean and jerk on Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who had won a bronze medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the higher 71kg category, delivered one of the finest performances of her career to earn India their seventh medal from the sport. She rewrote the Games record in the snatch twice, first clearing 99kg before improving it to 101kg with a confident final attempt.
Harjinder then continued her record-breaking spree in the clean and jerk, successfully lifting 123kg before raising the bar to 126kg, taking her overall total to 227kg.
Despite her outstanding effort, Harjinder was up against an exceptional performance from Canada’s Charlotte Simoneau, who proved to be in a class of her own.
The Canadian shattered the Games records in every category, hoisting a massive 108kg in the snatch and 132kg in the clean and jerk for a combined total of 240kg — also a new Commonwealth Games record — to finish 13kg clear of the Indian.
Harjinder’s silver added to India’s impressive run in weightlifting, with the contingent continuing to establish itself as one of the strongest teams at the Games.
Her consistent lifting under pressure and ability to keep improving her marks highlighted the progress she has made since Birmingham, even though Simoneau’s extraordinary numbers left little room for a challenge.
