New Delhi: His name was once laughed at. It was Jhandu Kumar who gave the country its first medal in the Commonwealth Games.

When Jhandu Kumar was announced as India’s first medalist at the Commonwealth Games, it was not just an announcement of a medal, but a triumph of his struggle and indomitable will.

Bihar’s 28-year-old para powerlifter Jhandu Kumar on Friday clinched the bronze medal in the men’s heavyweight category with 130.9 points. He has successfully lifted 181 kg and 190 kg, although his last attempt at 196 kg was unsuccessful. This weight could have changed the color of his medal.

Jhandu said in a talk hosted by Sai, “It is so blissful that I haven’t slept since last night. Even when I lie down, I don’t sleep.” But he has no regrets about the failure of the last attempt. He said, “I wanted to confirm the starting weight because if I failed in that, the confidence would have been shattered. The second weight was to ensure the medal and the third to win the gold (gold). I did not win the gold due to technical errors and hurried breathing.”

Jhandur’s struggle started long before the playground. Polio left him physically disabled at the age of five. He said, ‘I had to sit and walk. People used to sneer that now it has become disabled, what will it do in the end?’

The story of his name is equally painful. The family spent all their savings on polio treatment. At that time, some of the father’s acquaintances used to sarcastically say, “Your son has wasted everything, exhausted all the money.” This sarcasm gradually became his name Jhandu. He once tried to change his name to Avinash Kumar, but officials in government offices repeatedly called him ‘Jhandu Kumar’ and laughed at the documents.

He says, ‘I felt that if people were happy to laugh at my name, then it was the right name. Now in all documents my name is Jhandu Kumar. Avinash Kumar no longer exists.’