India ended day two of the Commonwealth Games with a medal and several encouraging performances in para weightlifting, swimming, boxing and lawn bowls as athletes continued to make progress in their respective sports.Jandu Kumar wins India’s first medalJandu Kumar opened India’s medal account with a bronze medal in the men’s heavyweight para-weightlifting competition.The 28-year-old, who overcame polio, financial difficulties and years of odd jobs before arriving on the international stage, scored 130.9 points after successfully lifting 181kg and 190kg. He failed to complete his last attempt of 196 kg.Sudhir, another Indian who participated in the event, finished sixth with 114.1 points.Nigeria’s Idris Liluwan won the gold medal with 132.8 points and Matthew Harding won the silver medal with 131 points.Ashok Malik finished fourthIndia narrowly missed out on another medal in the men’s lightweight para-weightlifting competition.Ashok Malik missed out on the podium by finishing fourth with 143.8 points.England’s Mark Swann won the gold medal with 153.9 points. Nigeria’s Roland Ezuruike (153.9) won the silver medal and Malaysia’s Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (153.5) won the bronze.Paramjit Kumar of India ranked seventh with 135.6 points.Karthik Budigina misses out on podium at para swimming eventIndia moved one step closer to another medal when Karthik Budigina finished fourth in the men’s 100m freestyle S13 final.Budijina’s time was 57.57 seconds, while teammate Imam Ali finished seventh in 1 minute 03.73 seconds.South Africa’s Nathan Hendricks won the gold medal with a time of 54.54 seconds. Scotland’s Stephen Clegg won the silver medal in 55.16 seconds and England’s Matthew Redfern won the bronze in 56.86 seconds.Category S13 is suitable for athletes with visual impairments.Earlier in the day, Budijina and Imam Ali both advanced to the finals after all eight swimmers qualified in the preliminary rounds. Budijina finished third in the heats with a time of 57.10 seconds and Imam Ali qualified with a time of 1 minute 05.32 seconds.Jadumani Singh reaches quarter-finalsIndian boxer Jadumani Singh made a good start in the men’s 55kg competition.He defeated Scotland’s Aaron Cullen via unanimous decision in the round of 32 to advance to the quarter-finals, where he will face Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman.Srihari Nataraji misses finalSrihari Nataraj finished in the semifinals in the men’s 50m backstroke.The Indian swimmer finished seventh in 25.29 seconds and missed the final.South Africa’s Pieter Coetze was fastest with a time of 24.29 seconds, ahead of compatriot Ruard van Renen (24.56) and England’s Oliver Morgan (24.65).Lawn bowls continues strong runIndia also had another successful day in lawn bowls.The women’s doubles team consisting of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh recorded a winning streak by defeating South Africa 2-0 (6-4, 7-5) in the Group B match at Hall 3, Scotland Events Campus.In the men’s singles, Putul Sonowal recorded another hard-fought victory over Canada’s reigning world champion Ryan Bester on the first day of play.Assam Police beat Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in the tie-break after the match ended 1-1.Sonowal tied the score after falling behind 4-3 and won the first set 7-5, and then Alexander won the second set 8-6. The Indian then maintained his composure in the tie-break to claim victory.
