India enjoyed a busy but mixed second day at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Friday, with para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar’s historic bronze medal remaining the standout achievement even as several other athletes produced encouraging performances without reaching the podium.
There was plenty to cheer beyond the medal tally as boxer Jadumani Singh began his campaign with an emphatic victory, India’s lawn bowls contingent extended its unbeaten run, and artistic gymnasts Pranati Nayak and Ruthuja Nataraj secured places in apparatus finals. Para swimmer R.V.V.B.K. Budigina came within touching distance of a medal, while the country’s women para powerlifters endured a frustrating day.
CWG 2026 DAY 1: HIGHLIGHTS
JHANDU’S FAIRYTALE CONTINUES
India’s first medal of the Games came through Jhandu Kumar, whose bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting capped an extraordinary journey from driving an e-rickshaw in Bihar to standing on the Commonwealth podium.
The 29-year-old’s inspiring achievement gave India the breakthrough it had been waiting for and provided the biggest talking point of an otherwise competitive day across multiple disciplines.
JADUMANI MAKES STRONG START
India’s boxing campaign gathered momentum as Jadumani Singh produced a commanding performance to defeat Scotland’s Aaron Cullen by unanimous decision in the men’s 55kg bout.
Competing in front of a partisan home crowd, the reigning national champion dictated the contest from the outset despite conceding a height advantage. Jadumani repeatedly stepped inside with crisp jabs and sharp combinations, neutralising Cullen’s reach and controlling the tempo across all three rounds.
The victory marked another encouraging step since his move up from the 50kg category, where he routinely had to cut nearly 10 kilograms before competitions. The switch to 55kg has allowed the Indian to compete with greater strength and confidence, and he will now face Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman in the pre-quarterfinals.
LAWN BOWLS STAY ON ROLL
India’s lawn bowls contingent continued its impressive start to the Games with victories in both the women’s pairs and men’s singles.
Commonwealth Games gold medallists Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh registered their second successive victory in the women’s pairs, defeating South Africa’s Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg 2-0 (6-4, 7-5). The win followed Thursday’s tie-break success over Malta and lifted the Indian duo to the top of the Section B standings.
The pair, who were part of India’s historic women’s fours gold medal-winning team in Birmingham four years ago, have adapted seamlessly to the pairs format after the fours event was dropped from the Glasgow programme.
There was more good news in the men’s singles as Assam Police officer Putul Sonowal backed up his stunning opening-day win over reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada with another gritty performance. Sonowal recovered from losing the second set to edge Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in a tie-break and make it two wins from two in Section D.
SWIMMERS FALLS JUST SHORT
India came agonisingly close to adding another medal through para swimmer R.V.V.B.K. Budigina in the men’s 100m freestyle S13.
Budigina and Ali Imam had both progressed to the final after finishing third and eighth respectively in the morning heats. However, Budigina narrowly missed the podium after clocking 57.57 seconds to finish fourth, while Imam improved on his heat swim to finish seventh in 1:03.73.
In the able-bodied events, two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraj failed to progress beyond the men’s 50m backstroke semifinals. After scraping through the heats in joint 14th place, Nataraj clocked 25.29 seconds in the semifinal to finish seventh, with all eight finalists swimming under the 25-second mark.
Earlier, Aryan Nehra and Dhakshan Shashikumar also bowed out in the heats of the men’s 400m freestyle.
POWERLIFTERS MISS OUT
India’s women para powerlifters were unable to add to Jhandu’s bronze despite spirited efforts across the lightweight and heavyweight events.
In the women’s lightweight competition, Jaspreet Kaur topped Group B after successfully lifting 95kg and 100kg, recovering from a failed second attempt at 99kg. Her effort earned 96.4 points, leaving her sixth in the combined standings.
Suman Devi, competing in Group A, successfully lifted 100kg on her opening attempt before failing twice at 103kg. She finished seventh overall with 88.4 points, one place behind compatriot Jaspreet.
The women’s heavyweight event ended in disappointment for Kasthuri Rajamani. The Indian failed to register a successful lift after unsuccessful attempts at 111kg, 111kg and 112kg, leaving her without a score and at the bottom of the standings.
GYMNASTS REACH APPARATUS FINALS
India’s artistic gymnasts produced encouraging performances despite missing out on team medals.
The women’s team of Pranati Nayak, Ruthuja Nataraj, Protistha Samanta and Samarpana Manna finished sixth with 148.050 points. Pranati qualified for the vault final after placing fourth in qualification, while Ruthuja booked her place in the floor exercise final with a fifth-place finish.
The men’s team comprising Tapeswarnath Das, Swathish Kaitheri Puthalath, Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh finished seventh with 208.550 points, ending ahead of Bangladesh, Singapore and New Zealand in the final standings.
PROMISING SIGNS AHEAD
While only Jhandu Kumar climbed the podium on Day 2, India’s performances offered plenty of reasons for optimism. Jadumani Singh advanced confidently in boxing, the lawn bowls contingent remained unbeaten, Budigina came within a whisker of a medal, and the gymnasts secured multiple apparatus final berths. With several medal events still to come over the weekend, India will hope those encouraging displays translate into a richer medal haul in Glasgow.
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