"All the required facilities are just one call away": Indian weightlifting coach Vijay praises govt support after 8 CWG2026 medals
New Delhi, August 3
The chief coach of the Indian weightlifting team, Vijay Sharma, reflected on his team's performance at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2026, saying that while they could have done "slightly better", the overall performance was still excellent, and the government support is unprecedented.
A total of eight medals were secured by the Indian weightlifting contingent at the CWG 2026, with a gold medal, six silver medals and a bronze medal. The highlight was the gold by Mirabai Chanu in the women's 48 kg category, marking a hat-trick of Commonwealth golds.
Gyaneshwari Yadav's national record-establishing performance in the women's 53 kg category (with a combined lift of 199 kg in snatch and clean and jerk categories giving her a silver) and silver medalist Lovepreet Singh's national record-making snatch lift in +110 kg (176 kg) were also among the highlights.
Silver from Rishikanta Singh men's 60 kg), Muthupandi Raja (men's 65 kg), Ajaya Babu (men's 79 kg) and Harjinder Kaur (women's 69 kg) and a bronze from Bindyarani Devi (women's 58 kg) were the other standout performances.
Speaking to ANI, the coach Vijay said that the hard work of the team has paid off and the athletes need to keep working hard. He also added that the athletes who returned home empty-handed are more determined to get a medal in the upcoming competitions.
"Our athletes have brought home 1 gold, 6 silver, and 1 bronze medal. They spent the last year qualifying for the Commonwealth Games, competing in two qualifying events and working incredibly hard. Our team's hard work has largely paid off. We could have done slightly better, but overall, the performance was excellent... The athletes just need to keep working hard. I spoke to those who didn't win medals; they are taking it seriously now and are determined to work harder. They aim to deliver an even better performance than what we saw at the Commonwealth Games," he said.
Vijay said that his contingent's meeting with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya was a really great one and filled him and the players with a renewed energy to do good in coming competitions.
The level of support the government is providing right now is unprecedented; no previous government has offered this much. We had a 25-day camp in Birmingham before the CWG to get the players acclimatised. The results are in front of us, with eight out of 11 medals coming. All the required facilities are just one call away. We are now ready to put up a great performance in upcoming competitions," he signed off.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Impressive haul indeed! Lovepreet's national record in snatch is a huge milestone. But I wonder if we could have converted some of those silvers to gold with better international exposure. Still, proud of the team's consistency across multiple weight categories.
Honestly, the way the coach talked about the government support - "all facilities just one call away" - that's the kind of confidence our athletes need. Remember the days when they had to struggle for basic equipment? We've come a long way. Proud moment for Indian sports! 🙌
Solid performance, but I'd love to see more gold medals at the next Asian Games and Olympics. The infrastructure support sounds great, now we need to focus on strength training and sports science to match the Chinese and Korean lifting programs. The potential is clearly there.
Gyaneshwari's national record was the highlight for me - 199 kg combined at just 53kg bodyweight shows incredible technique and power. And the fact that the coach personally motivates athletes who missed medals shows real leadership. This is how you build a winning culture!
Always good to see our athletes shine on the global stage. Though I do wish the media would give equal coverage to wrestling, boxing, and shooting - they've also been bringing medals home. But huge respect to the weightlifting team for this consistent performance. 👏
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