India’s boxing team enjoyed a dream outing at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday, producing a clean sweep in the ring as five pugilists booked their places in the semifinals and guaranteed themselves at least bronze medals.
Ankush Yadav, Sakshi Chaudhary, Arundhati Choudhary, Sachin Siwach, and Narender Berwal all emerged victorious in their respective quarterfinal bouts, extending India’s unbeaten run for the day and taking the country’s semifinal tally to nine.
INDIA AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES, JULY 29 UPDATES
They joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jadumani Singh (55kg), who had already secured their semifinal spots earlier in the competition. The latest victories ensured India has already locked in at least nine boxing medals in Glasgow.
Sakshi was among the first Indians to progress, producing a dominant display to outclass Northern Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers 5-0 in the women’s 51kg quarterfinal. Competing in a lower weight category after moving down from 54kg, the Indian boxer made her reach and movement count from the opening bell, repeatedly landing clean jabs and straight punches while keeping her opponent at distance.
Speaking after the victory, Sakshi explained how she approached the contest.
“Her strategy was to fight from close range and she kept clinching. Mine was to box from long range which is my forte,”
Fryers attempted to disrupt the Indian with relentless forward pressure and frequent exchanges at close quarters, but Sakshi stayed composed throughout. She avoided most of the incoming attacks with clever head movement before countering with accurate combinations. Although the contest featured several clinches, including one exchange where both boxers fell to the canvas in the second round, Sakshi remained in complete control to earn a unanimous decision.
Arundhati Choudhary also secured a place in the last four after overcoming New Zealand’s Morgan Henderson in the women’s 70kg category. Unlike Sakshi’s one-sided win, Arundhati was pushed much harder before eventually claiming a 3-1 verdict to guarantee herself a medal.
SACHIN CONTINUES FINE FORM
Former world youth champion Sachin Siwach continued his impressive form in the men’s 60kg division with a clinical performance against Botswana’s Treasure Moremi. The world No. 5 dictated the bout from start to finish, earning a 5-0 unanimous decision after impressing all five judges with his composure and clean boxing.
Ankush Yadav followed suit in the men’s 80kg quarterfinal, producing another commanding display against Seychelles’ Jade Micock. The World Boxing Cup Finals silver medallist controlled the contest with sharp combinations, disciplined defence and superior movement, winning the opening round across all five scorecards before extending his dominance in the second.
Micock struggled to cope with the Indian’s pace as Yadav repeatedly found openings with crisp attacks. The judges reflected that superiority in the final scores, awarding Yadav a 30-26 verdict on one card and 30-27 on the remaining four to complete another unanimous 5-0 victory.
Narender Berwal capped off India’s outstanding day in the ring by edging Samoa’s Michael Seko via split decision. The heavyweight stayed patient early on and refused to get dragged into an all-out slugfest, instead relying on measured attacks to take control of the opening round.
The contest became more complicated in the second round after Berwal was docked two points for illegal strikes, allowing Seko to swing the momentum in his favour on two of the judges’ scorecards. However, the Indian responded strongly in the closing stages, landing several clean punches and registering two knockdowns before doing enough to secure the decision and book his place in the semifinals.
India’s attention now shifts to Jaismine Lamboria, who will take on England’s Elise Glynn in the women’s 57kg quarterfinal later in the day. Victory for Jaismine would make it six Indian semifinalists on Wednesday alone and increase the country’s assured boxing medal tally to 10.
– Ends
