Right from the qualification rounds earlier this year, Rao was confident that Ajaya would deliver a medal based on how well he was performing. “I wanted him to go into badminton,” laughed Rao. “Pullela Gopichand and I met during an event where he asked me, ‘What do you think of your son taking up badminton?’ but Ajaya was resolute; he wanted to take up weightlifting.”

The 21-year-old has had his reasons. He was determined to keep the weightlifting tradition intact in his family and the village.

“I was about six years old when I was watching my father win a medal on TV in Kondavelagada. I did not understand everything then, but I saw neighbours coming to our home to congratulate him; the media started coming, and they showed my father being congratulated by the chief minister of the state. Our financial status improved significantly after that win,” said Ajaya.

The young boy slowly gravitated towards weightlifting. Then came CWG 2014 in Glasgow. Rao wanted to better his bronze and go for gold. However, destiny had different plans as Rao could not even qualify.

“He was heartbroken for the longest time. He felt he had incomplete business because he couldn’t qualify, and at that moment I took it upon myself to fulfil my father’s desire,” said Ajaya.

Revival of legacy

Valluri Srinivas Rao with then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. (Express photo by Tanishq Vaddi)

Once Ajaya decided to take up weightlifting, Rao was “proud,” and slowly started mentoring his son. “It became a dining table conversation. At breakfast, lunch and dinner, all we did was discuss improving his game, preparations for different tournaments and how to approach things.”

“There were some competitions which I missed in my career for some reason or the other, but I wanted Ajaya to participate in them to get exposure,” Rao added.

In addition to continuing his father’s legacy, picking weightlifting brought challenges. The region’s older guard, who had won national and international medals, began to fade. This required the new generation to start delivering medals to re-establish their pride and continue to keep the next generation of weightlifters hungry, and Ajaya was quite aware of this.

“Usually I am quite confident, someone who does not take a lot of pressure… my father never said I should win medals, but only recently, before CWG, my uncle started emphasising a little more about my father’s legacy and why my winning a medal is a matter of pride. That’s when I got a bit fired up,” Ajaya said.

However, Rao prefers the cool and composed version of Ajaya. “Technically, he is stronger than me, quicker than me, but his ability to be composed under pressure is too good. When I played, I used to get very tense,” he said.

“I always drilled in him during our meal conversations: you might have a stronger or bigger opponent, but if you trust your practice, you will always win, and that mindset is what keeps him cool,” concluded Rao.

Wary of doping

Ajaya Babu at the 2026 National Weightlifting Championships. (Image via special arrangement)

“Even today, whether he is in Glasgow, Patiala or Kondavelagada, I meticulously ask about all the technical apsects of his game, what sort of training he did, whether he sustained any injuries, and what food he is having,” Rao said.

Although the basics of weightlifting ingrained by Rao played their part in Ajaya’s success, the 21-year-old said the actual game-changer was the supplements his father suggested. “I am very particular when it comes to even the water that Ajaya drinks. I have seen through my playing career how easily players test positive for doping… I have seen this happen in the careers of many athletes; sometimes, bad people with ill-intent who dislike a particular weightlifter mix a banned substance in their water, cold drink or food without their knowledge, spoiling a career as a result. I wanted to be extremely careful of such things with Ajaya,” said Rao.

“There is a list of substances that Google gives that is fine, but there is also a list of banned substances given by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) that I keep in mind. I have been in this field for 27 years, so I used my experience to suggest supplements to Ajaya,” Rao added.

“This is the only difference between international weightlifters and us,” Ajaya said regarding supplementation. “Competing countries have several high-protein foods in their meals, but in Indian culture, the food and diet are not always as nutritious. So we are not able to compete as much,” Ajaya observed.

Although Ajaya could not win gold in Glasgow, with age still on his side, he is confident that he can fetch the top prize at big international events. “I will get physically stronger and a little more mature, so I can try and win gold at Los Angeles 2028 or the Commonwealth Games in 2030,” he signed off.