Chennai: The silver medal won by Tamil Nadu weightlifter Muthupandi Raja on Sunday probably belonged to his parents as much as he did. Their years of back-breaking work as daily wage laborers gave their son the chance to chase a dream that found the right time in Glasgow. The medal is the culmination of a journey that almost came to an abrupt end. Injuries and health failures are done King: thought of quitting the sport, but his family and coaches firmly stood behind him. He suffered an injury during the 2019 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships and underwent surgery, which kept him out of action for almost two years. In 2022, he was diagnosed with jaundice and later underwent appendicitis surgery, which sidelined him for almost a year. It was at this difficult stage that he thought of giving up the game. However, the enforced break helped him complete a strength and conditioning course, in addition to learning about sports science, which taught him how to deal with injuries. Raja’s elder brother, Suresh, who is also a national level weightlifter, told TOI that it was “just the beginning”. “This silver should be an inspiration for Raja and we want to see him compete in the Olympics,” Suresh told TOI. For Raja, it all started in a small gym in the village of Sankaralingapuram in Thoothukudi district, where he trained with Suresh. Seeing the brothers’ bodies, local coaches convinced them to take up weightlifting. Raja’s talent quickly shone through, earning him a place at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) training center in Mayiladuthurai for a year. But the brothers’ journeys eventually took different paths. Suresh was forced to quit the sport three years ago due to financial constraints. “Watching my brother win a medal in Glasgow was like winning a medal myself. What I couldn’t achieve, he did. “We didn’t know anything about weightlifting in the beginning because we went to the gym for strength training. When we asked our parents if we could continue weightlifting, they told us to do what we wanted and supported us wholeheartedly. My father bought us whatever we needed by lending it to the villagers, and the people in our village were equally supportive.”