Commonwealth Games: India miss out on a first championship medal as Ashok Kumar Malik finished fourth in para powerlifting

India’s Ashok competes in the Men’s Lightweight Group A Para Powerlifting at the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (PTI photo) India missed out on a medal at the first Commonwealth Games championship event in 2026 as Ashok Kumar Malik finished fourth and Parmjeet Kumar placed seventh in the men’s lightweight para powerlifting event on Friday.Ashok came closest to a podium finish but narrowly missed out despite performing two successful lifts.Athletes from several body weight categories participated in the combined medal competition. At such events, the final ranking is decided using a coefficient formula that calculates points based on the athlete’s body weight and their best successful lift.Parmjeet opened with a successful lift of 176kg and received two greens and one red from the judges. He then attempted 179kg but was unable to complete the lift.Ashok started strongly with a successful lift of 195 kg, the heaviest opening lift in the field.In the second round, Parmjeet again went for 179 kg but could not complete the attempt.Ashok then successfully lifted 200 kg. The effort earned him 143.8 points and kept him in contention for a medal.Parmjeet made a final attempt at 179 kg. Although he completed the lift, the jury declared it invalid and gave him three red lights.Ashok picked 205 kg for his final attempt, which would be the heaviest successful lift of his career. Even with a successful lift, however, he would remain fourth due to the coefficient scoring system. He failed to complete the attempt and finished fourth with 143.8 points.Parmjeet finished seventh with 135.6 points.England’s Mark Swan won the gold medal with a score of 153.902.Roland Ezuruike of Nigeria won silver with 153.874 points while Bonnie Bunyau Gustin of Malaysia won bronze with 153.5 points.