Glasgow 2026: Nirupama Devi misses weightlifting m...

By Rohan Gupta — 28 July 2026 — 4 min read

Indian weightlifter Nirupama Devi Seram concluded her campaign in the Women’s 63kg final at the Commonwealth Games 2026 without securing a medal. Devi was unable to register a successful lift in the clean and jerk round, which resulted in her elimination from medal contention. Her best snatch lift in the competition was 93kg.

Devi’s performance in the snatch round saw her initially placed fifth with a best lift of 93kg. She had successfully lifted 93kg on her second attempt after failing her opening attempt at the same weight. Her third and final snatch attempt at 95kg was also unsuccessful. Following the snatch round, she was positioned third, with two competitors yet to begin their attempts at higher starting weights. Canada’s Maude Charron led the snatch round with a Commonwealth Games record lift of 102kg, followed by Nauru’s Femily-Crystie Notte with 100kg, and Australia’s Kiana Rose Elliott with 99kg.

In the clean and jerk round, Devi initially registered an opening attempt of 115kg, which she later raised to 123kg. However, she failed to complete all three of her attempts at 123kg. With no successful lift recorded in this phase, she did not achieve a total mark for the competition.

Athletics and Swimming Updates

In athletics, India’s Vishal TK advanced to the semifinals of the 400m event. He secured his spot by finishing second in Heat 6 with a time of 46.49 seconds. Another Indian athlete, Rajesh Ramesh, competed in Heat 3, clocking 47.43 seconds, but this was not sufficient to qualify for the semifinals.

The swimming events also saw Indian athletes in action. Srihari Nataraj qualified for the men’s 100m backstroke semifinals, finishing fifth in Heat 4 with a time of 55.58 seconds. Para swimmers RVVBK Budigina and Ali Imam both secured places in the Men’s 50m Freestyle S13 final. Budigina finished third in Heat 1 with 26.33 seconds, while Imam clocked 28.41 seconds to finish fifth in Heat 2.

However, Sajan Prakash’s campaign in the men’s 50m butterfly concluded as he did not qualify for the semifinals. Competing in Heat 9, he finished last in his race with a time of 24.94 seconds, placing 28th overall among 70 swimmers. A time quicker than 24.25 seconds was required for qualification.

India’s Medal Hopes and Recent Success

India entered the day with a total of six medals in weightlifting, comprising one gold, four silver, and one bronze. Nirupama Devi Seram was aiming to contribute to this tally in the Women’s 63kg final. Later in the evening, Harjinder Kaur is scheduled to compete in the Women’s 69kg final at 11:00 PM IST, with hopes of adding to India’s medal count.

Boxing also presents significant medal opportunities for India, with five quarterfinal contests scheduled. Preeti Pawar, Priya Ghanghas, Parveen Hooda, Jadumani Singh, and Kapil Pokhariya are all one victory away from securing at least a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals.

The Indian contingent is looking to build on its performance from Monday, which saw a haul of six medals, bringing the country’s total to 10. This included India’s first-ever para-athletics gold, won by Sharmila Dhankar in the Women’s Shot Put F57 event. Dhankar, who registered a season-best throw of 9.81 metres, was joined on the podium by teammate Shilpa K Shyla, who secured a bronze medal in the same event.

Sharmila Dhankar’s gold medal ended India’s 20-year wait for a para-athletics gold at the Commonwealth Games. Her journey to this achievement involved overcoming personal challenges, including contracting polio at the age of two, which affected her left leg. She also faced difficulties in her first marriage before remarrying Ajit Singh, who encouraged her to pursue para sports. She won gold in her debut at the 2021 Para National Championships and previously finished fourth in both the 2022 Birmingham Para Commonwealth Games and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games. Dhankar’s success has been praised by President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya also sharing her achievement.

The Commonwealth Games 2026 continue with a busy schedule, including more swimming heats, athletics, weightlifting finals, and boxing quarterfinals, as India aims to further increase its medal tally.

The women’s 50m butterfly heats are scheduled to begin at 3:46 PM.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com