India opened its medal tally at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow after Jhandu Kumar won bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting final early Saturday. The 39-year-old lifter secured the podium finish with a best successful lift of 190kg, earning 130.9 points. He began strongly by lifting 181kg in his first attempt for 124.7 points before improving his mark to 190kg in the second lift, which briefly moved him to the top of the standings. In his final attempt, Jhandu went for 196kg, which would have broken the Commonwealth Games meet record set at Birmingham 2022. However, he could not complete the lift and eventually settled for bronze. Earlier, India’s lightweight para powerlifters missed out on medals. Ashok finished fourth in the men’s final with a personal-best 200kg lift (143.8 points), while Paramjeet Kumar took seventh with 176kg (135.6 points). In the women’s lightweight category, Jaspreet Kaur placed sixth after lifting 100kg (96.4 points), and Suman Devi finished seventh with a best lift of 100kg (88.4 points). Kasthuri Rajamani failed to record a valid lift in the women’s heavyweight final after all three attempts were unsuccessful. Jhandu’s bronze marked India’s first medal in para powerlifting at the Glasgow Games.
Article and image source: indiagazette.com
