India’s Nirupama Devi faced a disappointing outcome in the women’s 63kg weightlifting event at the Commonwealth Games 2026, failing to register a total score. Despite a promising start in the snatch discipline, her medal aspirations ended after she could not complete any of her three attempts in the clean and jerk section.
The Commonwealth Championships silver medallist had been considered a strong contender. She had previously secured a silver medal at the 2025 Commonwealth Championships with a combined lift of 217kg, comprising 91kg in snatch and 126kg in clean and jerk.
Snatch Performance and Medal Contention
Nirupama Devi began her competition with an initial unsuccessful lift of 93kg in the snatch. However, she recovered on her second attempt to successfully clear the same weight. Her third attempt at 95kg was unsuccessful, leaving her with a best snatch lift of 93kg.
This performance placed her in fifth position after the snatch discipline, keeping her firmly within medal contention as the competition moved into the clean and jerk section. Competitors like Nauru‘s Femily-Crystie Notte had posted a 100kg snatch, while Canada‘s Maude Charron achieved 102kg, and England‘s Sarah Davies Smale successfully lifted 95kg, setting a challenging benchmark for Nirupama Devi.
Clean and Jerk Disappointment
The clean and jerk discipline proved to be challenging for the Indian weightlifter. She opened her attempts at 123kg, a weight that was 4kg lower than the 127kg she had successfully lifted at the National Championships earlier in the year. Despite this, Nirupama Devi was unable to complete the lift on any of her three attempts.
Her inability to register a successful lift in the clean and jerk resulted in a Did Not Finish (DNF) status, effectively ending her campaign without a ranking. This marked the first instance of an Indian weightlifter failing to secure a medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, breaking the country’s impressive streak of six weightlifting medals at the event.
During her attempts, Nirupama Devi had the support of Mirabai Chanu, a three-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who was present in her corner, offering encouragement.
Other Weightlifting Results and India’s Performance
While Nirupama Devi faced disappointment, Canada‘s Maude Charron demonstrated her dominance in the category. The Tokyo Olympic champion set new Commonwealth Games records in both disciplines, lifting 102kg in the snatch and 130kg in the clean and jerk. Her combined total of 232kg secured her third consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal.
England‘s Sarah Davies Smale earned the silver medal with a total of 217kg, consisting of 95kg in snatch and 122kg in clean and jerk. The bronze medal went to Femily-Crystie Notte of Nauru, who achieved a total of 216kg with lifts of 100kg in snatch and 116kg in clean and jerk.
Despite Nirupama Devi‘s outcome, weightlifting has been a strong sport for India at the Commonwealth Games 2026, contributing six of the country’s ten medals so far. Other Indian athletes were also in action on Day 6 of the games, with boxer Preeti Pawar having an opportunity to secure a bronze medal in her quarter-final bout against Nicole Clyde of Northern Ireland, scheduled for 10:30 PM IST.
In athletics, Vishal TK qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s 400m, while Rajesh Ramesh was knocked out. In swimming, Srihari Nataraj advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s 100m backstroke, and R.V.V.B.K. Budigina and Ali Imam qualified for the final of the men’s 50m freestyle S13 heats. However, Sajan Prakash did not make it to the semi-finals of the men’s 50m butterfly heats.
The Commonwealth Games 2026 continues with a packed schedule, including further medal events in weightlifting and boxing.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
