Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India’s Commonwealth Games campaign has its first medal and, on Saturday, its first real spread of opportunity. Olympian Pranati Nayak leads the women’s artistic gymnastics team at the Glasgow International Arena, with Nishka Agarwal, Protistha Samanta and Eshitaa Rewale completing a four-member squad competing both for the team podium and for qualification into individual apparatus finals. In the pool, Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra contest the men’s 400m freestyle, and in the ring Sachin Siwach — a former Commonwealth Youth Games champion — meets Canada’s Al-Ahmadieh Keoma in the men’s 60kg round of 32.
The account was opened on Friday by para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar, whose bronze in the men’s heavyweight event came with a best lift of 190 kg on his second attempt for 130.9 points. He opened at 181 kg, improved it, and went after 196 kg with his final effort without success; the medal was already secure. The 28-year-old is the son of a vegetable vendor, worked as an auto-rickshaw driver, and in 2023 sold that vehicle — his livelihood — to fund a trip to the national championships. Teammates came close: Sudhir finished sixth in the same category, and Ashok Kumar Malik was fourth in the men’s lightweight event.
Day 3 in Glasgow: Pranati Nayak leads a four-member Indian women’s artistic gymnastics squad chasing team and apparatus-final places, with swimmers in the 400m freestyle and Sachin Siwach opening his boxing campaign — after Jhandu Kumar’s 190 kg bronze opened the account.
He sold the vehicle that fed his family to reach a national meet. Glasgow is what that ticket bought — and a reminder of how much Indian talent is waiting on the price of a journey.
At a Glance
• First medal: Jhandu Kumar, bronze, men’s heavyweight para powerlifting (190 kg)
• Saturday: five sports — gymnastics, swimming, boxing, lawn bowls, 3×3 wheelchair basketball
• Gymnastics: Pranati Nayak, Nishka Agarwal, Protistha Samanta, Eshitaa Rewale
• Landmark: India’s first para athletes in a team sport begin their campaign
There is a quiet landmark in Saturday’s schedule beyond the medal table. India’s first-ever para athletes in a team sport are beginning their campaign in 3×3 wheelchair basketball — a debut that widens what Indian participation at these Games means, regardless of the result. Australia leads the early tally with Nigeria and hosts Scotland close behind, and India’s realistic medal prospects on the day rest on qualification into the gymnastics and swimming finals rather than on guaranteed podium events.
The constructive read is about the pipeline rather than the tally. That India’s opening medal came from para sport reflects a decade in which para athletes have moved from the margins of the national conversation toward its centre, supported by better funding, coaching and visibility. The way forward is to make Jhandu Kumar’s story less exceptional — so that reaching a national championship never again requires selling the family’s means of earning. Talent identification in small towns, travel and equipment support, and consistent coaching are the unglamorous investments that turn one bronze in Glasgow into a habit of medals.
