Punjab’s Lovepreet Singh, hailing from Bal Sachandar village in Amritsar district, won the silver medal in the men’s +110 kg weightlifting event at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.Lovepreet lifted a total of 388 kg (176 kg in the snatch and 212 kg in the clean and jerk). The silver medal comes four years after he claimed bronze at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.Born into a humble family that survived on ‘mehnat mazdoori’—as Lovepreet’s father, Kirpal Singh, says—Lovepreet’s journey to the international stage was far from easy. His grandfather, Gurmej Singh, and paternal uncle earned a living by selling vegetables. Before leaving for training, Lovepreet would accompany them to the wholesale vegetable market at 5 am to help unload the vegetables. Only after finishing the work he would head to practice.Lovepreet took up weightlifting while studying in Class VIII. Inspired by weightlifters from his village, he dreamt of making a name for himself in the sport. The turning point came when another youngster from Bal Sachandar won a silver medal at the state level.“The entire village celebrated that achievement. Seeing the joy it brought, we wanted our son to take up sports and build a better future. Lovepreet was equally motivated,” recalled his father, Kirpal, a tailor.The hard work soon paid off. While in Class IX, Lovepreet won his first state-level medal, giving him the confidence to pursue the sport seriously.Lovepreet trained at a college ground located far from his home. Every day, his father would take him on a bicycle to the bus stop. From there, Lovepreet would take an auto-rickshaw to the ground.“That was our daily routine. That’s how the struggle began,” said Kirpal.On his son’s achievement, an emotional Kirpal said, “After the bronze medal earlier and now the silver, I cannot express what I am feeling. It is all because of the Almighty that we have lived to see these happy days. Otherwise, we didn’t have much.”