India Secures First Medal at Commonwealth Games 2026 with Jhandu Kumar's Bronze in Para Powerlifting

India ended Day 2 of the Commonwealth Games with one medal and several encouraging performances across para powerlifting, swimming, boxing and lawn bowls, as athletes continued to progress in their respective events. Jhandu Kumar opened India's medal account by winning bronze in the men's heavyweight para powerlifting event. The 28-year-old, who overcame polio, financial hardship and years of doing odd jobs before reaching the international stage, scored 130.9 points after successful lifts of 181kg and 190kg. He could not complete his final 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 claimed silver with 131 points. Ashok Malik finished fourth in the men's lightweight para powerlifting event with 143.8 points, missing out on a podium finish. England's Mark Swan won gold with 153.9 points. Nigeria's Roland Ezuruike (153.9) took silver, while Malaysia's Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (153.5) claimed bronze. India's Paramjeet Kumar finished seventh with 135.6 points. Karthik Budigina finished fourth in the men's 100m Freestyle S13 final, clocking 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. The S13 category is for athletes with visual impairments. Earlier in the day, both Budigina and Imam Ali had advanced to the final after all eight swimmers in the heats qualified. Budigina had finished third in the heats with a time of 57.10 seconds, while Imam Ali qualified with 1:05.32 seconds. Indian boxer Jadumani Singh made a winning start in the men's 55kg competition, defeating Scotland's Aaron Cullen by unanimous decision in the Round of 32 to move into the pre-quarterfinals, where he will face Pakistan's Sumama Rehman. Srihari Nataraj's campaign in the men's 50m backstroke ended in the semifinals, finishing seventh in his race with a time of 25.29 seconds and did not qualify for the final. South Africa's Pieter Coetze qualified fastest in 24.29 seconds, ahead of compatriot Ruard van Renen (24.56) and England's Oliver Morgan (24.65). The women's pairs team of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh registered their second straight win, defeating South Africa 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) in their Section B match at the Scottish Event Campus Hall 3. In the men's singles, Putul Sonowal backed up his opening-day win over reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada with another hard-fought victory, defeating 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 claimed the second set 8-6. The Indian then held his nerve in the tie-break to complete the win.