Jhandu Kumar won bronze to open India's medal account at CWG 2026
India ended Day 2 joint ninth with one bronze, as Australia stayed on top
Ashok Malik, Karthik Budigina, boxers and lawn bowlers also impressed on Friday
India wrapped up Day 2 of the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow with its first medal of the campaign and a series of encouraging performances across para powerlifting, boxing, swimming and lawn bowls.
Jhandu Kumar's bronze ensured India opened its medal account, while several other athletes came agonisingly close to adding to the tally. At the end of the day's action, India was joint ninth in the overall medal standings with one bronze.
The standout moment came in the men's heavyweight para powerlifting event, where Jhandu clinched bronze with 130.9 points.
The Bihar lifter, whose journey to the podium has been shaped by overcoming polio and financial hardship, successfully lifted 181kg and 190kg before narrowly missing a Commonwealth Games record with an unsuccessful 196kg attempt. Fellow Indian Sudhir finished sixth.
India also came close to another podium finish in the men's lightweight category, where Ashok Malik placed fourth with 143.8 points, narrowly missing bronze, while Paramjeet Kumar ended seventh.
India's boxers made a strong start to their campaign as Jadumani Singh advanced to the men's 55kg pre-quarterfinals with a unanimous decision victory over Scotland's Aaron Cullen.
He will next take on Pakistan's Sumama Rehman for a place in the quarterfinals. In the pool, para swimmer Karthik Budigina narrowly missed a medal after finishing fourth in the men's 100m Freestyle S13 final in 57.57 seconds, while Imam Ali came home seventh.
In able-bodied swimming, Srihari Nataraj's campaign in the men's 50m backstroke ended in the semifinals after he finished seventh.
India also continued to impress on the lawn bowls green. The women's pairs duo of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh registered their second successive victory by defeating South Africa, maintaining their unbeaten run.
In the men's singles, Putul Sonowal followed up his opening-day upset of world champion Ryan Bester with another gritty win, edging Falkland Islands' Cecil Alexander in a tie-break to strengthen his position in the competition.
Although only one medal was added to the tally, India's performances on Day 2 offered plenty of positives.
Commonwealth Games 2026 Medal Table (After Day 2)
| Rank | Country | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Australia | 6 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | Nigeria | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 3 | Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | England | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| 5 | South Africa | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 5 | Canada | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | Wales | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | India | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
With athletes progressing in boxing, remaining in contention in lawn bowls and narrowly missing podium finishes in para sports, the Indian contingent heads into Day 3 with growing momentum and hopes of climbing the medal table.
