Commonwealth Games: Jhandu Kumar wins India’s first medal in para powerlifting; Day 2 brings mixed results in Glasgow

Jhandu Kumar celebrates after winning the bronze medal during the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting medal ceremony at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (PTI photo) India ended Day 2 of the Commonwealth Games with one medal and some encouraging performances in para powerlifting, swimming, boxing and bowls as athletes continued their events.Jhandu Kumar wins India’s first medalJhandu Kumar opened India’s medal account by winning bronze in men’s heavyweight para powerlifting.The 28-year-old, who overcame paralysis, financial hardship and years of menial jobs before reaching the international stage, scored 130.9 points after successful lifts of 181kg and 190kg. He failed to finish his last attempt of 196kg.The other Indian in the event Sudhir finished sixth with 114.1 points.Nigeria’s Idris Riluwan won gold with 132.8 points while Matthew Harding won silver with 131 points.Ashok Malik finishes fourthIndia narrowly missed out on another medal in men’s lightweight para powerlifting.Ashok Malik finished fourth with 143.8 points and missed out on the podium.England’s Mark Swan won the gold with 153.9 points. Silver went to Roland Ezuruike from Nigeria (153.9), bronze went to Bonnie Bunyau Gustin from Malaysia (153.5).India’s Paramjeet Kumar finished seventh with 135.6 points.Karthik Budigina misses the podium in para swimmingIndia came close to another medal as Karthik Budigina finished fourth in the men’s S13 100m freestyle final.Budigina clocked 57.57 seconds while teammate Imam Ali finished seventh in 1:03.73.South Africa’s Nathan Hendricks won gold in 54.54 seconds. Scotland’s Stephen Clegg took silver in 55.16 seconds and England’s Matthew Redfern won bronze in 56.86 seconds.Category S13 is intended for athletes with visual impairments.Earlier in the day, both Budigina and Imam Ali advanced to the final after all eight swimmers qualified in the heats. Budigina finished third in the heats with a time of 57.10 seconds, while Imam Ali qualified with 1:05.32 seconds.Jadumani Singh enters the pre-quarterfinalsIndian boxer Jadumani Singh got off to a winning start in the men’s 55kg competition.In the round of 32, he defeated Scotsman Aaron Cullen by unanimous decision to advance to the pre-quarterfinals, where he will face Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman.Srihari Nataraj is missing in the finalSrihari Nataraj’s 50m breaststroke campaign ended in the semi-finals.The Indian swimmer finished seventh in his event with a time of 25.29 seconds and did not qualify for the final.South African Pieter Coetze qualified fastest in 24.29 seconds ahead of compatriot Ruard van Renen (24.56) and Englishman Oliver Morgan (24.65).Lawn bowls continue to run strongIndia also enjoyed another successful day in the lawn bowls.The women’s pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh registered their second straight win as they beat South Africa 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) in a Section B match at the Scottish Event Campus Hall 3.In the men’s singles, Putul Sonowal backed up his win over reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada with another hard-fought victory.The Assam policeman beat Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in a tie-break after the match ended 1-1 in sets.Sonowal recovered from a 3-4 deficit to win the opening set 7-5 before Alexander took the second set 8-6. The Indian then held his nerve in the tie-break to complete the win.