India’s Jhandu Kumar overcame a childhood marked by polio, poverty and years of doing odd jobs to win the bronze medal in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting event at the Commonwealth Games on Friday, delivering India’s first medal of the competition.
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The 28-year-old amassed 130.9 points to finish on the podium after successfully lifting 181kg and 190kg.
The other Indian in the event, Sudhir (114.1 points), finished sixth.
Meanwhile Ashok Malik narrowly missed out on a medal in the men’s lightweight competition, finishing fourth with 143.8 points, while Paramjeet Kumar ended seventh with 135.6 points.
In the women’s heavyweight final, Kasthuri Rajamani failed all three of her attempts whereas
Jaspreet Kaur and Suman Devi also missed out on medals in the women’s lightweight final.
Budigina finishes fourth
India narrowly missed out on a para-swimming medal after Karthik Budigina finished fourth in the men’s 100m Freestyle S13 final. Budigina clocked 57.57 seconds to finish just outside the podium.
The other Indian in the event, Imam Ali, finished seventh with a time of 1:03.73.
In the able-bodied events, Srihari Nataraj’s campaign suffered a setback as he failed to qualify for the men’s 50m backstroke final, finishing seventh in the semifinals.
Jadumani defeats local favourite in Round of 32
Indian boxer Jadumani Singh registered a comfortable victory over local favourite Aaron Cullen in the men’s 55kg Round of 32 match.
Competing in front of a partisan home crowd, Jadumani proved technically and tactically superior, defeating the Scot by a unanimous decision to book his place in the pre-quarterfinals, where he will face Sumama Rehman of Pakistan.
Tapan, Yogeshwar qualify for all-around final
Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh qualified for the men’s all-around final after finishing 17th and 18th respectively in the artistic gymnastics competition.
Mohanty totalled 71.700 points, while Yogeshwar was close behind at 71.400. Both secured berths in the 24-man all-around final, subject to the two-per-country qualification rule.
In the apparatus events, Swathish Kaitheri Puthalath was named second reserve for the rings final after scoring 12.450, while Yogeshwar was also second reserve in the vault with 12.600.
India finished seventh in the men’s team competition with a cumulative score of 208.550, trailing champions Canada by 32.850 points.
India beat South Africa in lawn bowls
India produced another dominant performance to register their second successive victory in the women’s pairs lawn bowls event. The Indian duo of Rupa Rani Tirkey (lead) and Pinki Singh (skip) defeated South Africa’s Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui Janse van Rensburg 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) in their second Section B match at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Hall 3.
The South African pair put up a spirited fight but were outplayed by the Indians, who now sit at the top of the Section B standings.
Sonowal wins again
Assam Police officer Putul Sonowal, who made headlines on Thursday by defeating reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in his opening match, was pushed to the limit before overcoming Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands in a tie-break during the second round of Section D.
The 43-year-old Indian recovered from a 3-4 deficit to win the opening set 7-5. However, Alexander responded strongly to claim the second set 8-6, levelling the match at 1-1.
With the contest going into a tie-break, Sonowal held his nerve and clinched the decisive point to seal another hard-fought victory.
