Harjinder Kaur’s smile is truly infectious. After successfully completing her clean and jerk attempt, she genuflected to the crowd, waved her hands in acknowledgement and happily slow-jogged back to the coaches’ area.

It was a special moment for the 29-year-old veteran, who had improved on her bronze medal from the previous Commonwealth Games by clinching silver this time in the 69kg weightlifting competition of the Glasgow Games at the Scottish Event Campus here on Tuesday (July 28, 2026).

Amidst stiff competition, Harjinder held her own and never wilted under pressure, claiming the silver medal with a total lift of 227kg behind Charlotte Simoneau of Canada who lifted a total of 240kg to win the gold.

Charlotte, a two-time junior World champion in 2024 and 2025, was the show stealer as the 21-year-old created a Games record in snatch (108 kg), a Commonwealth and Games record in clean and jerk (132 kg), and Games record in snatch (240 kg).

But Harjinder was focused on the task at hand, not on reputations competing beside her.

She executed all six of her lifts — three in the snatch and three in the clean and jerk — with remarkable composure, not failing a single attempt. On a stage where consistency was as valuable as strength, Harjinder did exactly what she had set out to do.

When Harjinder finally walked into the mixed zone with ‘Finnie’, the Commonwealth Games mascot, fiddling in her hands and camera flashes, her smile seemed brighter than ever. There was a distinct glow about her, one that reflected not just the joy of winning silver but also the many sacrifices her parents had made to help her reach this stage.

On her day at the big arena, Harjinder didn’t forget her family.

“My family played an important role. For me to do well in weightlifting, my parents focused on my diet, shoes and kits, sacrificing a lot of things in the process. It was a bit of struggle as I used to help my father in farming,” she said.

Published - July 29, 2026 03:48 pm IST