Jhandu was a laughingstock. He now has a Commonwealth Games medal

When Jhandu Kumar’s name rang out across the Glasgow arena, it carried far more weight than the bronze medal hanging around his neck.

For years, “Jhandu” has been a reminder of some of the hardest days of his life. It was a name born out of helplessness, poverty and the family’s desperate attempt to save their son after polio left him disabled as a child.

On Friday, the same name announced India’s first Commonwealth Games medal.

Jhandu, 28, won bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting with a total of 130.9 points, successfully lifting 181kg and 190kg. He then went to 196kg, a bold attempt that could have moved him higher up the podium, but the lift didn’t count.

Jhandu, however, barely registered the disappointment.

“The luck is overwhelming. I couldn’t sleep since last night… Even if I lie down, sleep just doesn’t come,” he told reporters during a Sports Authority of India interaction.

The medal was the reward for a journey that began far from the Commonwealth Games arena and with a name he once wished to leave behind.

JHANDU: A NAME THAT HURTS

Jhand was five when polio changed his life. He remembers little of the illness itself, but he does remember what came after.

“My family says I got polio when I was 5 years old. I had to sit up and walk… People made fun of me. They said, ‘Now that he’s disabled, what’s he going to do?’

His family did everything they could to find treatment for him. His parents spent everything they had in hopes of helping their son recover. In the end, even this fight was attached to his name.

His father’s friends taunted the family saying, “Aap ka beta sab jhandu kar diya, sab paisa khatam kar diya.”

The nickname stuck.

Jhandu tried to put it behind him for a while. He started using a different name, Avinash Kumar. But during a visit to a government office, officials called out “Jhandu Kumar”. He went inside. They asked his name repeatedly and then laughed. There was humiliation at the time, but Jhandu eventually found another way to deal with it.

“I felt that if everyone laughs at my name… then that name is only good. Now in all our documents it is Jhandu Kumar. So Avinash Kumar is no more.”

The name that once mocked him has become his own.

FROM E-RICSHAW TO THE STAGE

The medal in Glasgow did not come easily.

Jhandu’s parents still sell vegetables in their village in Bihar. He drove an e-rickshaw for eight or nine months to pay for the food and supplements he needed to continue training.

“I used to ride e-rickshaws for diet. I thought I would earn Rs 200-400 and have supplements and keep going to the gym.”

But the work was worth it. He drove during the day and tried to train in the evening, only to find that the time spent in the gym was overwhelmed by exhaustion. Even driving the vehicle was difficult due to his disability.

“I had trouble hitting the brakes, but I managed despite the polio.”

He went on.

Para powerlifting wasn’t even supposed to be his sport.

Jhandu initially competed in the shot put before Bihar coach Kundan Pandey noticed his physique and suggested he try powerlifting. He took the advice, competed in the state championship in Sasaram and gradually began to work his way through the sport.

Progress was slow. Financial constraints interrupted his training and made every step difficult. But the bronze medal at the 2022 national championship gave him reason to believe that something bigger is possible.

That same year, Sudhir won the Commonwealth Games gold.

Jhandu recalls hearing about his performance from the owner of his gym.

“When our gym owner told me that Sudhir bhai lifted 212 kg and won the Commonwealth Games, I said I will do it too. I thought I have to do it for my country.”

Four years later, Jhandu has her own Commonwealth Games medal. It’s more bronze than gold, but even a failed final attempt carries a certain meaning.

He safely lifted 181 kg on his first attempt. The second, 190 kg, was enough for him to fight for a medal. Third was his chance to chase gold.

“I went safe the first lift. If I took the first lift harder and if I didn’t make it, there would have been a problem for me. My confidence would have gone down. My goal was to get through the first lift. Then the second lift was to get in the medal order. The third lift was for the gold medal.”

He was missing. According to him, it was a technical error. His breath went haywire in his haste and the barbell got stuck in the rack as he finished the lift. But he has no regrets.

A NAME TO BE PROUD OF

Now training at India’s National Center of Excellence in Gandhinagar, Jhandu says his sporting needs are taken care of even as life at home remains modest.

“My parents are happy, sweets were distributed in my village.

A boy who was once mocked for being disabled, whose family was mocked for spending everything they had on his treatment, has returned home with a Commonwealth Games medal.

And the name, once used as a derision, echoed around Glasgow’s sporting arena. However, Jhandu does not end there.

“My journey has begun, next I have to prepare for the Para-Asian Games and the Paralympics.”

Another number is already in the viewfinder.

“There is a record of 232 kg. I want to break that record,” he said.

But for now, the name is enough. Jhandu Kumar is a Commonwealth Games medallist.

– The end

Published on:

26 Jul 2026 08:25 IST