Jhandu Kumar (born 1 August 1997) is an Indian para powerlifter. He won a bronze medal in the men's heavyweight category in the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Early life Jhandu Kumar was born on 1 August 1997 in Harnaut in Nalanda district of Bihar. He legs were affected by polio contracted during his childhood. He family was engaged in selling vegetables, and he used to travel about daily to buy vegetables, which he later sold in the local market. He later started plying a e-rickshaw to support his training costs.
Career Jhandu Kumar initially trained at a local gymansium. He started competing in para athletics in 2017, and won medals in state level events in shot put and discus throw in the F55 classification. He was encouraged to try powerlifting during a state-level athletic event in Patna. Later, he trained under Gautam Singh, who ran a gymnasium in Harnaut, and won a silver medal in a powerlifting competition at Kolkata in 2022 with a lift of . Later that year, he won a gold medal at a local event while competing with able-bodied men.
In 2023, Jhandu Kumar sold his e-rickshaw to finance his participation in the National Championships in New Delhi. At the National Championships, he did not register a result, after he failed to lift . However, his effort was noticed by former paralympian and coach Rajinder Singh Rahelu, who invited him to train at the Sports Authority of India's National Centre of Excellence at Gandhinagar. He won a silver medal with a lift of in the 72 kg weight category at the first Khelo India Para Games in 2023. In the National Championships later that year, he won the gold medal with a lift of .
In the 2025 National Championships, Jhandu Kumar set a new national record with a lift. He won his first international medal later that year, a bronze, at the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Beijing. He set a new national record with a lift in the 2025 Khelo India Para Games. He won a bronze medal at the Asia Oceania Powerlifting Championships in early 2026.
Jhandu Kumar competed in the heavyweight class in the para powerlifting events at the 2026 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow in July 2026. He successfully lifted with his first attempt and improved to in his second attempt. He tried and failed to lift in his third attempt. He won a bronze medal with 130.9 points, with a best lift of . This was India's first medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
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