Jhandu Kumar’s journey to bronze at the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a tale of resilience, confidence, and transformation. Once known as Avinash Kumar, he accepted the moniker ‘Jhandu’ in spite of being teased as a child due to polio, ultimately transforming a derogatory term into a source of strength. Jhandu started training and discovered his career in sports after being inspired by Salman Khan’s movies and his love of fitness. He won a bronze medal for India in para powerlifting men’s heavyweight event while standing on the podium in Glasgow years later. His CWG 2026 victory has transformed a once-mocked moniker into one that is now honored nationwide.
Avinash To Jhandu: A Name Born From Struggle
Challenges from an early age have shaped Jhandu Kumar’s journey. Born Avinash Kumar, he was teased by everyone around him after being diagnosed with polio during childhood. Over time, those comments came to be connected with the moniker ‘Jhandu’. But he made the decision to accept the name and give it a new meaning rather than let the negative define him.
“It is true that there were a lot of difficulties, but we did not give up. We kept moving forward to solve our problems. Regarding the story behind my name: my name was Avinash Kumar since childhood, right from the time I had polio. ‘Jhandu’ became my name during a period when we faced a shortage of money, and people started calling us Jhandu. That’s how I got named Jhandu Kumar,” He told Times Now in an exclusive conversation.
We actually tried to change the name later. We had gone to a block office to get some work done, and when we submitted our name, all the workers were sitting there. They asked, Whose name is this? Jhandu Kumar is sitting outside, call him in. When we went inside, they asked twice, What is your name? I replied, ‘Sir, my name is Jhandu Kumar.’ After that, all the workers smiled. We felt good about it—we didn’t feel bad at all. We felt happy seeing that the workers work so hard, and if my funny name brought a smile to their faces, then maybe this name would be lucky for us. So, we decided not to change it and kept the name,” he added.
From Salman Khan Films To The Gym
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was another unexpected impact on Jhandu Kumar’s path to fitness and athletics. He claimed that the actor’s body and movies motivated him to start exercising.
“We used to watch Salman Khan’s movies and wanted to build biceps and triceps. That’s how we became interested in going to the gym,” Jhandu said.
His community did not have a gym at the time. However, Jhandu started taking his training seriously after a fitness setup was eventually established. His passion for fitness will ultimately propel him to the podium of the Commonwealth Games.
The 29-year-old had complete control at the beginning of his campaign. With a score of 130.9 points at the halfway stage, his second attempt—a successful 190 kg lift—was sufficient to push him to the top of the leaderboard. The sheer effectiveness of the lift put tremendous pressure on the rest of the competitors, even if he was 8 kg shy of his personal best.
In his last attempt, Jhandu strived for ultimate glory, aiming for an enormous 196 kg, but he almost missed it. However, he was already in a commanding position because of his 190 kg effort. His 130.9-point benchmark would probably withstand the Group A attack and gave him a position on the podium.
