Scotland/Digital Desk: On the second day of the Commonwealth Games 2026, Indian players performed brilliantly in many sports and brought glory to the country. If we talk about the biggest achievement of the day, it was the bronze medal won by Jhandu Kumar of Bihar in Para Powerlifting. He finished third in the men’s heavyweight category and with this gave India its first medal of the competition.

Let us tell you that this is also the first international medal in Jhandu Kumar’s career. Coming from a farmer family, this success of Zandu is the result of years of struggle and hard work.

journey from struggle to success

28-year-old Jhandu Kumar belongs to a farmer family from Bihar. He had polio in childhood. After which his health started deteriorating and then a period of challenges started in his life, amidst financial constraints and family responsibilities, he did many small jobs. Sold vegetables to run the household and later also drove an e-rickshaw.

Despite these difficult circumstances, he did not give up his love for sports and has now set an inspiring example by winning a historic medal for India in the Commonwealth Games.

Won bronze with successful lifts of 181 and 190 kg.

Jhandu Kumar made successful lifts of 181 kg and 190 kg in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting event. He won the bronze medal by scoring a total of 130.9 points.

However, his third attempt of 196 kg was not successful. In this event, Nigeria’s Idris Riluwan won the gold medal and Matthew Harding won the silver medal. Another Indian player Sudhir finished sixth with 114.1 points.

Ashok Malik missed the medal

India’s Ashok Malik was very close to winning a medal in the men’s lightweight para powerlifting event, but missed out by a narrow margin. Due to which he stood fourth by scoring 143.8 marks, while Paramjeet Kumar stood seventh with 135.6 marks.

Karthik’s brilliant performance in para swimming

In para swimming, Karthik Budigina finished fourth in the final of men’s 100 meter freestyle S13 event with a timing of 57.57 seconds. He remained very close to the medal. India’s Imam Ali stood seventh in the same event.

At the same time, Indian swimmer Srihari Nataraj finished seventh in the semi-finals of the men’s 50 meter backstroke event with a time of 25.29 seconds and could not make it to the final.

Jadumani Singh’s winning start in boxing

In boxing, India’s Jadumani Singh made a great start to his campaign with a win in the men’s 55 kg category. With this win they entered the pre-quarterfinals.

India’s excellent performance in lawn balls also

Indian players continued their excellent performance in lawn balls.

• In the women’s doubles match, the pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinky Singh registered their second consecutive win by defeating South Africa 2-0.
• In the men’s singles category, Putul Sonowal defeated Cecil Alexander of Falkland Islands to book his place in the next round.

Highlights of India’s performance

• Jhandu Kumar won India’s first medal in para powerlifting.
• Won bronze medal in men’s heavyweight category.
• Jadumani Singh reached the pre-quarterfinals.
• Karthik Budigina finished fourth.
• Ashok Malik missed the medal by a narrow margin.
• In lawn bowls, the women’s doubles and men’s singles teams advanced to the next round.

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