India opened their medal account at the Commonwealth Games 2026 through Jhandu Kumar, who clinched bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting at the SEC Armadillo in Glasgow on Friday.
Competing in Group B, the 28-year-old Indian para powerlifter produced a best lift of 190kg on his second attempt to finish with 130.9 points.
At the Commonwealth Games, para powerlifting medals are decided using a bodyweight coefficient formula rather than the weight lifted alone.
Athletes from different bodyweight classes compete together in the lightweight and heavyweight categories, with rankings determined by combining an athlete’s bodyweight and best successful lift.
Jhandu successfully lifted 181kg with his first attempt before improving it to 190kg. He took a shot at 196kg with his final lift but was unsuccessful.
Nigeria’s Riluwan Idris claimed the gold medal with 208kg and 132.8 points, while England’s Mathew Harding settled for silver after lifting 199kg for 131.0 points.
Jhandu’s tally proved enough to secure bronze and India’s first medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026.
The son of a vegetable vendor, Jhandu once helped his family sell vegetables before working as an auto-rickshaw driver. In 2023, he sold his vehicle to fund his trip to the national championships.
The remaining six Indian paralifters returned empty-handed.
Sudhir, another Indian competing in the same category as Jhandu, finished sixth in the same division with 114.1 points.
Earlier in the day, Ashok Kumar Malik narrowly missed out on a medal after finishing fourth in the men’s lightweight event.
The Paris 2024 Paralympian and 2023 Asian Para Games bronze medallist registered a personal-best 200kg lift to finish on 143.8 points.
England’s Mark Swan won the gold with 222kg and 153.9 points, edging Nigeria’s Roland Ezuruike, who also finished on 153.9 points after lifting 185kg. Malaysia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin claimed bronze with 220kg and 153.5 points.
Fellow Indian Parmjeet Kumar finished sixth with 135.6 points.
In the women’s lightweight competition, Jaspreet Kaur and Suman Devi also finished outside the medals.
Competing in Group B, Jaspreet topped her six-athlete group with a best lift of 100kg, worth 96.4 points, but the score was not enough to challenge for the podium after the completion of Group A.
Nigeria’s Esther Nworgu won gold with a Games record lift of 123kg and 119.0 points.
India’s Suman Devi finished seventh overall with a best lift of 100kg, earning 88.4 points, while Jaspreet placed sixth overall.
In the women’s heavyweight competition, Kasthuri Rajamani failed to register a valid lift.
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