Irene Jane Henry wins bronze in women’s 48kg weightlifting on her Commonwealth Games debut at Glasgow 2026
GLASGOW: National weightlifter Irene Jane Henry’s Commonwealth Games debut was a bittersweet experience as she lost out on the silver medal by a mere kilogramme (kg) during her competition here yesterday.
While her disappointment was obvious, she was nonetheless grateful to win the bronze medal in the women’s 48 kg category with a combined lift of 167 kg, a kilogramme less than the 168 kg lifted by silver medalist Ruth Asuquo Nyong from Nigeria.
“Losing by one kg really hurts, but I’ve done my best. I can’t ask for an extra lift as there are only three tries, so I can only accept (the results).
“Backstage, I was really nervous and scared. But I wanted to fight and at least secure a medal,” she told Bernama after her Games debut at Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Armadillo.
She also revealed that her bronze medal bore special meaning to her as she managed to achieve her personal target of a podium finish in her Games debut.
“Even though it’s not a silver medal, I’m grateful to get a bronze for Malaysia. To my family and fans in Malaysia, especially in Sabah, thank you for your support and prayers,” she added.
During today’s competition, Irene Jane was consistent in the snatch, completing all her three attempts – 72 kg, 75 kg and 77 kg – successfully but had her first clean and jerk attempt of 90 kg deemed unsuccessful.
She had better luck in her second clean and jerk attempt, managing to lift the same weight after her challenge against the decision was turned down.
Unfortunately, her third and final attempt to lift 93 kg to score a combined lift of 170kg for the silver medal, was unsuccessful.
“I think maybe it just wasn’t my day as I have lifted 93 kg many times before. Maybe the condition of my body today wasn’t that great,” she said as she admitted that it was hard for her to accept as she had been able to do it several times during her training sessions.
Mirabai Chanu of India won the gold medal with a combined lift of 190 kg.
