Why Did Jhandu Kumar Miss Out On Commonwealth Games 2026 Gold? Coach Reveals 'Miscommunication'

Rajinder Singh Rahelu, coach of Indian para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar, said that their target was a gold medal but Kumar missed out on the top spot at the Commonwealth Games 2026 due to a 'slight miscalculation and miscommunication'. Jhandu Kumar clinched the bronze medal in the men's heavyweight category after lifting 190kg on his second attempt. Rahelu said that the team had already calculated the lifts required for the gold medal and were quite confident of winning. "It's a very good thing, feeling very good. We already knew, we had done the calculations. We had targeted gold, but for some reason, it was missed," Rahelu told ANI. However, they ended up missing the gold due to a 'slight error in communication'.

"The competition for gold was very tough, as we saw. But it wasn't that; it was just miscommunication. I was a bit far, and there was some difficulty in calculation. As you saw, the medal was missed by just two points," he said.

He also explained how a two-point difference in para powerlifting can end up making the competition extremely close.

"Two points means 2-3 kilograms. But considering how the body performs in such close calls, there was a slight error in calculation. But it's okay, we have a medal, and we've opened India's account, which is a very good thing," he added.

Jhandu secured the podium finish with a best successful lift of 190kg, earning 130.9 points. He began strongly by lifting 181kg in his first attempt for 124.7 points before improving his mark to 190kg in the second lift, which briefly moved him to the top of the standings. In his final attempt, Jhandu went for 196kg, which would have broken the Commonwealth Games meet record set at Birmingham 2022. However, he could not complete the lift and eventually finished with the bronze medal.

Earlier, India's lightweight para powerlifters missed out on medals. Ashok finished fourth in the men's final with a personal-best 200kg lift, scoring 143.8 points, while Paramjeet Kumar took seventh with 176kg and 135.6 points.

In the women's lightweight category, Jaspreet Kaur placed sixth after lifting 100kg for 96.4 points, while Suman Devi finished seventh with a best lift of 100kg and 88.4 points.

Kasthuri Rajamani, meanwhile, failed to record a valid lift in the women's heavyweight final after all three of her attempts were unsuccessful. Jhandu's bronze marked India's first medal in para powerlifting at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

(With ANI inputs)

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