Harjinder Kaur Dedicates CWG Silver to Her Mother

'I usually call my mother first whenever I win a medal, and today was no different—I spoke to her briefly right after my event as she was a little upset with me for being away at competitions for so long," Harjinder told IANS. 

The 29-year-old weightlifter finished with a combined lift of 227kg (101kg snatch + 126kg clean and jerk). She stayed in medal contention throughout the competition and sealed second place with a successful 126 kg lift in her final clean and jerk attempt to secure her second successive Commonwealth Games medal. 

Reflecting on her performance, the weightlifter admitted that while she had achieved higher numbers during training sessions, she was pleased with her consistency on the big stage.

"I am happy with my silver medal. I have achieved better clean and jerk lifts during my training, but I am satisfied that all six of my lifts were valid," she said.

Having set her sights on the top step of the podium, Harjinder, who upgraded her bronze from 2022 Birmingham Games to Commonwealth Games silver in Glasgow, revealed that upgrading her medal status was her main target entering the competition. "I came here with the goal of changing the colour of my medal," she added. 

Harjinder's sporting journey began late and unexpectedly. She was initially a passionate Kabaddi player, training as a raider and even cycling five kilometres daily just to practice. It was only in 2016, at the age of 20, that her life changed at Punjabi University in Patiala.