Baru bags first Bronze for PNG

Morea Baru claimed Papua New Guinea’s first Bronze Medal in the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday, July 26th, at SEC Armadillo in Glasgow, Scotland. 

The elite weightlifter aimed for the gold but fell short, settling for bronze in the Men's 65kg Weightlifting division.

He finished just behind Malaysia's Muhamad Aznil Bidin, who took gold with a Games record of 299kg, and India's Raja Muthupandi, who claimed silver at 286kg. 

With a strong and determined performance, Baru delivered Papua New Guinea's first medal, making the country proud and setting the pace for other PNG athletes to follow suit and win medals.

The 36-year-old from Hanuabada village made an impression, snatching 125kg and making a lift of 157kg in the clean and jerk to secure a total of 282kg, an improved lift from his previous Commonwealth Games lift at the Birmingham Games in 2022.