How a father's faith forged Harjinder Kaur into a CWG silver medallist

A father's Rs 350 and unwavering belief helped shape Harjinder Kaur's Commonwealth journey. Four years after winning bronze, the Indian weightlifter returned to Glasgow and fulfilled her promise by upgrading it to silver.Harjinder Kaur upgraded her Birmingham bronze to Commonwealth Games silver. (Photo: PTI)Every time Harjinder Kaur travelled from her hometown of Nabha to her college hostel in Sri Anandpur Sahib, her father would quietly hand her just enough money for the journey and a little extra for expenses. On Tuesday in Glasgow, those modest sacrifices culminated in the 29-year-old standing on the Commonwealth Games podium with a silver medal around her neck.India's weightlifting contingent continued its rich medal haul at the 2026 Commonwealth Games as Harjinder won silver in the women's 69kg category, upgrading the bronze she claimed in Birmingham four years ago. Speaking to The Indian Express before the Birmingham Games, Harjinder had revealed the sacrifices her father made to keep her dream alive.CWG Day 5 Highlights"My father would give me Rs 350 for the return fare from Nabha to the college hostel in Sri Anandpur Sahib and another Rs 350 as pocket money. I felt ashamed to ask for more money." The remark summed up the financial struggles her family endured as Harjinder chased a career in weightlifting. Every trip to college, every training session and every competition rested on the belief that the sacrifices would one day be worthwhile."If I win a medal, I would say that the fodder I cut on a toka helped me build strong arms and it helped me when I took up weightlifting." That medal eventually arrived in Birmingham as bronze. Four years later in Glasgow, Harjinder returned with a bigger ambition — to change the colour of it.MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN GLASGOWHarjinder delivered the finest performance of her Commonwealth career, lifting personal-best weights of 101kg in the snatch and 126kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 227kg. She twice rewrote the Games record in the snatch before setting new marks in the clean and jerk, only for Canada's Charlotte Simoneau to eclipse every record on her way to gold with a total of 240kg. Australia's Nya Phebe Hayman finished third on 218kg as Harjinder secured India's seventh weightlifting medal of the Games.Speaking to reporters after the medal ceremony, Harjinder said upgrading her medal had been the goal ever since Birmingham."I am very happy to have won the silver medal. At the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, I won a bronze medal, and this time I came with the aim of changing the colour of my medal. I achieved that by winning silver. Now I'm looking ahead to the 2030 Commonwealth Games. Having won silver this time, I will try my best to win the gold medal in the next edition. I am very happy."She dedicated the medal to her family, whose sacrifices laid the foundation for her success."I am very happy to win the silver medal for India. I feel really proud. I am very happy with my performance. I will dedicate my medal to my family. I am thankful to the Indian Federation and the Indian Government that they helped us reach here."THE JOURNEY ISN'T OVER YETGlasgow marked another significant chapter in Harjinder's career. After winning bronze in Birmingham, she returned four years later to improve the colour of her medal, doing so with personal-best lifts and a record-breaking performance despite coming up against an unstoppable Simoneau.With silver now added to her Commonwealth collection, Harjinder has already fixed her eyes on the next target. As she made clear after stepping off the podium in Glasgow, the mission for 2030 is simple — turn silver into gold.- EndsPublished By: Debodinna ChakrabortyPublished On: Jul 29, 2026 09:02 IST