Commonwealth Games 2026 Day 2 Wrap: Jhandu Kumar’s bronze headlines India’s mixed day
India enjoyed an eventful but mixed second day at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday, with para powerlifter Jhanda Kumar’s historic bronze medal a standout achievement even as several other athletes put in encouraging performances without making the podium.
There was much to cheer about on the medal table as boxer Jadumani Singh opened his campaign with an emphatic victory, India’s bowls contingent extended their unbeaten run and artistic gymnasts Pranati Nayak and Ruthuja Nataraj secured places in the apparatus finals. Para-swimmer RVVBK Budigina came close to a medal, while women’s para powerlifters had a frustrating day.
CWG 2026 DAY 1: MAIN
JHANDU’S FAIRY TALE CONTINUES
India’s first medal of the Games has arrived Jhandu Kumar, whose bronze in men’s heavyweight para powerlifting completed an extraordinary journey from driving an e-rickshaw in Bihar to standing on the Commonwealth podium.
The 29-year-old’s inspirational feat gave India the breakthrough it had been waiting for and provided the biggest talking point of an otherwise competitive day across the board. more fields.
JADUMANI IS OFF TO A STRONG START
India’s boxing campaign got a boost as Jadumani Singh put in a commanding performance to defeat Scot Aaron Cullen by unanimous decision in the men’s 55kg bout.
Competing in front of a partisan home crowd, the reigning national champion dictated the match from the start despite gaining the height advantage. Jadumani repeatedly came inside with sharp jabs and sharp combinations, neutralizing Cullen’s reach and controlling the tempo in all three rounds.
The victory marked another encouraging step since his move from the 50 kg category, where he normally had to shed almost 10 kilograms before competitions. The move to 55kg has allowed the Indian to compete with more power and confidence and he will now take on Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman in the pre-quarterfinals.
LAWN BOWLS REMAIN IN THE COMPANY
The Indian bowls contingent continued their impressive start to the Games with victories in both the women’s doubles and men’s singles.
Commonwealth Games gold medalists Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh recorded their second straight women’s win as they beat South Africa’s Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg 2-0 (6-4, 7-5). The win followed a tie-break over Malta on Thursday and took the Indian duo to the top of the Section B standings.
The pair, who were part of India’s historic women’s fours team that won the gold medal in Birmingham four years ago, adapted seamlessly to the pairs format after the fours event was dropped from the Glasgow programme.
Putul Sonowal kept his cool in the shoot-off to seal a thrilling victory for India in the Men’s Singles Lawn Sectional!
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There was more good news in the men’s singles as Assam policeman Putul Sonowal backed up his stunning opening day victory over reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada with another gutsy performance. Sonowal bounced back from losing the second set to Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in a tie-break to make it two wins out of two in Section D.
SWIMMERS FALL JUST SHORT
India came agonizingly close to adding another medal through para swimmer RVVBK Budigina in the men’s 100m freestyle S13.
Budigina and Ali Imam advanced to the final after finishing third and eighth in the morning heats. However, Budigina narrowly missed out on the podium after clocking 57.57 seconds to finish fourth, while Imam improved his swim to finish seventh in 1:03.73.
In the able-bodied events, two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraja failed to advance past the semi-finals of the 50m breaststroke. After scraping through the heats in joint 14th place, Nataraj clocked 25.29 seconds in the semi-finals to finish seventh, with all eight finalists swimming under 25 seconds.
Earlier, Aryan Nehra and Dhakshan Shashikumar also bowed out in the men’s 400m freestyle heats.
POWERLIFTERS ARE MISSING
India’s women para powerlifters failed to add to Jhanda’s bronze despite spirited efforts in the light and heavy events.
In the women’s lightweight competition, Jaspreet Kaur topped Group B after successfully lifting 95kg and 100kg, recovering from a failed second attempt at 99kg. Her effort earned 96.4 points, leaving her sixth overall.
Competing in Group A, Suman Devi successfully lifted 100kg in her opening attempt before failing twice at 103kg. She finished seventh overall with 88.4 points, one place behind compatriot Jaspreet.
The women’s heavyweight race ended in disappointment for Kasthuri Rajamani. The Indian failed to register a successful lift after unsuccessful attempts at 111kg, 111kg and 112kg, leaving her scoreless and at the bottom of the standings.
GYMNASTS REACH APPAREL FINALS
India’s artistic gymnasts put up encouraging performances despite falling short of team medals.
The women’s team of Pranati Nayak, Ruthuja Nataraj, Protistha Samanta and Samarpana Manna finished sixth with 148.050 points. Pranati qualified for the vault final after finishing fourth in the qualifiers, while Ruthuja secured her spot in the floor exercise final with a fifth-place finish.
The men’s team of Tapeswarnath Das, Swathish Kaitheri Puthalath, Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh finished seventh with 208,550 points to finish ahead of Bangladesh, Singapore and New Zealand in the final standings.
NEXT SIGN AWAITS
While only Jhandu Kumar made it to the podium on Day 2, India’s performances offered plenty of reason for optimism. Jadumani Singh advanced supremely in boxing, the bowls contingent remained undefeated, Budigina came just a whisker away from a medal and the gymnasts secured several places on the apparatus. With several more medal events to come over the weekend, India will be hoping that these encouraging displays translate into a richer medal haul in Glasgow.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
25 Jul 2026 04:29 IST