{"id":25802,"date":"2026-07-27T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25802"},"modified":"2026-07-27T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T16:00:00","slug":"he-sold-biscuits-drove-a-rickshaw-now-jhandu-kumar-is-a-commonwealth-medallist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25802","title":{"rendered":"He sold biscuits, drove a rickshaw, now Jhandu Kumar is a Commonwealth medallist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"arti_content_n\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><strong>Jhandu Kumar overcame polio and financial hardship, including selling biscuits and driving a rickshaw, to win India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"imgwidth\" title=\"Jhandu Kumar\" src=\"https:\/\/im.rediff.com\/sports\/2026\/jul\/27jhandu-kumar.jpg?w=830&amp;h=1000\" alt=\"Jhandu Kumar\" style=\"max-width:100%;\"\/><\/p>\n<p>IMAGE: India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games came from Jhandu Kumar, who won bronze\u00a0in the men&#8217;s heavyweight para powerlifting event. <span class=\"credit\">Photograph: Team India\/X<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"keypoints\">\n<h3>Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Jhandu Kumar won bronze in the men&#8217;s heavyweight para powerlifting event to give India its first medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.<\/li>\n<li>His parents recalled his battle with polio, financial struggles and years of hard work that led to his international success.<\/li>\n<li>Jhandu supported his family by driving a rickshaw and selling biscuits before pursuing para powerlifting seriously.<\/li>\n<li>His mother urged the government to reward his achievement with a job after the family&#8217;s years of sacrifice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"rbig\">The parents of Indian para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar celebrated his bronze medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, saying years of hardship and determination had finally paid off.<\/p>\n<p>Jhandu won bronze in the men&#8217;s heavyweight para powerlifting event at the SEC Armadillo after lifting 190kg on his second attempt.<\/p>\n<p>His effort earned him 130.9 points under the bodyweight coefficient system used in para powerlifting and gave India its first medal of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Parents Recall Sacrifices Behind Jhandu&#8217;s Success<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"rbig\">His father, Ramanand Paswan, said Jhandu was affected by polio as a child and never received proper treatment despite being taken to hospitals in Lucknow and Kolkata.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;He contracted polio in 1990. We took him to Lucknow and Kolkata, but he did not get proper treatment. He later received treatment in Bihar. He worked, drove a rickshaw and sold biscuits. We still live in a rented house. It feels wonderful after his win,&#8221; Paswan said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Mother Hopes Medal Leads to Government Job<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"rbig\">Jhandu&#8217;s mother, Kamala Devi, said the family made many sacrifices to support his dream and hoped the government would reward him with a job.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My son drove an electric rickshaw. We sold whatever we could, even potatoes, to support him. People used to tease him, but he always told me, &#8216;Wait and watch, Mother, I will prove myself.&#8217; He joined a gym and we stood by him. I am very happy today and only want a good job for him from the government,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Para powerlifting medals at the Commonwealth Games are decided using a bodyweight coefficient system, with athletes ranked on both their bodyweight and their best successful lift.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rediff.com\/sports\/report\/i-made-so-many-sacrifices-emotional-mirabai-chanu-completes-golden-hat-trick-at-commonwealth-games-cwg-glasgow-2026\/20260727.htm\"><strong>&#8216;I made so many sacrifices&#8217;: How Mirabai Chanu Won Gold In Glasgow<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>190kg Attempt Seals Bronze<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"rbig\">Jhandu opened with a successful lift of 181kg before improving to 190kg on his second attempt. He then attempted 196kg in a bid to break the Commonwealth Games record set at Birmingham 2022 but was unable to complete the lift.<\/p>\n<p>Despite missing the record, the 28-year-old secured the bronze medal and delivered India&#8217;s first para powerlifting podium finish of the Glasgow Games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rediff.com\/sports\/report\/he-sold-biscuits-drove-a-rickshaw-now-jhandu-kumar-is-a-commonwealth-medallist\/20260727.htm\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jhandu Kumar overcame polio and financial hardship, including selling biscuits and driving a rickshaw, to win India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. IMAGE: India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games came from Jhandu Kumar, who won bronze\u00a0in the men&#8217;s heavyweight para powerlifting event. Photograph: Team India\/X Key Points Jhandu Kumar won [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1054,"featured_media":25803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-powerlifting-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>He sold biscuits, drove a rickshaw, now Jhandu Kumar is a Commonwealth medallist - World Bodybuilding News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldbodybuildingnews.com\/?p=25802\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"He sold biscuits, drove a rickshaw, now Jhandu Kumar is a Commonwealth medallist - World Bodybuilding News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jhandu Kumar overcame polio and financial hardship, including selling biscuits and driving a rickshaw, to win India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. IMAGE: India&#8217;s first medal at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games came from Jhandu Kumar, who won bronze\u00a0in the men&#8217;s heavyweight para powerlifting event. 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