The Indian contingent has secured its first medal at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026. Jhandu Kumar secured Indiaโs first medal as he finished in third place in the para powerlifting event. He clinched bronze in the men’s heavyweight category.ย
At 72.4 kg, Jhandu Kumar lifted 190 kg on his second attempt. He narrowly failed to lift 96 kg on his third attempt. Despite remaining in the lead for a long time, the 28-year-old ultimately ended up finishing in third place.ย
It is worth noting that Jhandu Kumar overcame polio and many financial hardships. He scored a total of 130.9 points and successfully lifted 181 and 190 kg before ultimately failing in the 196 kg category. However, despite his bronze win, his team was hopeful of a gold medal victory.ย
The lightweight para powerlifter missed out on the podium. Ashok finished fourth in the men’s final, scoring 143.8 points. On the other hand, Paramjeet Kumar ended up finishing in seventh place in the standings. Furthermore, in the womenโs lightweight category, Jaspreet Kaur placed in sixth place after lifting 100 kg. Additionally, Paramjeet Kumar ended up finishing in seventh place in the event.ย
Jhandu Kumarโs coach opened up on bronze medal win
After the win at the Commonwealth Games, Jhandu Kumarโs coach, Rajinder Singh Rahelu, came forward and talked about how they were targeting the gold medal but had to eventually settle for a bronze medal due to a miscalculation and miscommunication among them.ย
“It’s a very good thing, feeling very good. We already knew, we had done the calculations. We had targeted gold, but for some reason, it was missed,” Rahelu told ANI.
“The competition for gold was very tough, as we saw. But it wasn’t that; it was just miscommunication. I was a bit far, and there was some difficulty in calculation. As you saw, the medal was missed by just two points. Two points means 2-3 kilograms. But considering how the body performs in such close calls, there was a slight error in calculation. But it’s okay, we have a medal, and we’ve opened India’s account, which is a very good thing,” Rahelu added.
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