CWG 2026: India's Rishikanta Singh breaks Games snatch record with 121kg lift
Glasgow, July 26
India's Rishikanta Singh Chanambam delivered a record-breaking performance in the men's 60kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday, lifting 121kg in the snatch to set a new Commonwealth Games record before Malaysia's Mohamad Aniq Kasdan matched the mark to leave the two medal contenders tied at the top after the opening discipline, according to ESPN.
Entering the competition as one of the favourites after winning gold at the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad, Rishikanta began his campaign with a successful lift of 116kg before smoothly clearing 119kg to move to the top of the standings.
With the previous Commonwealth Games snatch record standing at 120kg, the Indian opted for 121kg on his final attempt. Showing remarkable composure, Rishikanta executed the lift cleanly to register a new Games record and improve his personal best.
However, his lead was short-lived as Malaysia's Mohamad Aniq Kasdan, the Commonwealth record holder in the total, also successfully lifted 121kg moments later to equal the new Games mark. The two medal contenders finished the snatch phase tied at the top with 121kg each, setting up an intense battle in the clean and jerk.
Kenya's Joshua Mboya occupied third place after producing a personal-best snatch of 115kg, while Sri Lanka's Supun Dilhara Somathilaka was fourth with 109kg.
Heading into the clean and jerk, Rishikanta declared an opening attempt of 145kg, while Kasdan opted to start at 150kg. With both lifters level after the opening discipline, the contest for the Commonwealth Games gold medal remained finely poised, with the combined total from the snatch and clean and jerk set to determine the final podium.
— ANI
Reader Comments
The way he broke the Games record with such composure is incredible. But that Malaysian lifter is no joke either - equaled it right away. This is going to be a nail-biter in clean and jerk. India needs to support our athletes more 🥇
As an Indian living abroad, seeing athletes like Rishikanta break records makes me emotional. We have so much talent back home. Hope the government provides better training facilities for weightlifting - this is Olympic medal potential 🇮🇳
I appreciate the achievement, but let's not get carried away. CWG is a weaker competition without China and other top nations. We need to benchmark against world champions. Still, this is a solid step for Rishikanta's career.
That Malaysian lifter is clearly strong too, but our boy from Manipur showed such calm confidence. 121kg is no joke! Clean and jerk mein aur record tod de bhai 💪. Proud of you, Rishikanta!
It's nice to see a new Indian star emerging in weightlifting. Mirabai Chanu paved the way, and now Rishikanta is stepping up. But why is he starting at 145kg while the Malaysian starts at 150kg? That's a conservative strategy, hope it doesn't cost him gold.
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