Seven golds and two silvers: India’s boxing dominance shines in Glasgow

India produced a dominant boxing performance at the Commonwealth Games, winning seven gold medals. Ankush Panghal added the latest title in the men’s 80kg category, while Sachin, Jaismine, Preeti, Sakshi, Arundhati and Priya also struck gold

Glasgow: Indian women boxers lived up to their billing with five gold medals while Sachin Siwach and Ankush Panghal sealed men’s titles as the country produced its best-ever performance at the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Asian Games medallist Preeti Pawar (54kg), Asian champion Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg) and Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) won gold medals, while Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) settled for silver.

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In the men’s competition, Sachin (60kg) and Ankush (70kg) struck gold, while Jadumani Singh (55kg) and Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal (+90kg) finished with silver medals.

India’s previous best boxing campaign at the Commonwealth Games came in Gold Coast in 2018, when it won seven medals, including three gold.

With chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “India, India” reverberating around the SEC arena, the Indian boxers enjoyed near home-like support.

“The crowd support was brilliant, it really pumped me,” said the 20-year-old Priya.

Preeti kick-started India’s golden run with a commanding 5-0 victory over Canada’s Scarlett Delgado in the women’s 54kg final.

Jaismine followed with another clinical 5-0 win, defeating Northern Ireland’s defending champion Michaela Walsh in the 57kg summit clash.

Fighting from long range and relying on her sharp footwork, Preeti made a measured start before gradually finding her rhythm. Once she settled in, the Indian dictated the pace, keeping Delgado at bay with crisp counters and timely combinations to cruise to victory.

Jaismine, meanwhile, was made to work much harder against the vastly experienced Walsh. Commanding the centre of the ring and making full use of her superior reach, the Indian edged the opening two rounds 3-2 before closing out a deserved unanimous victory.

Sakshi, who dropped down from 54kg to 51kg, upset local favourite Ruby White of England in another impressive display.

Priya, sporting a tricolour gumshield, recovered from a slow start to beat Canada’s Marie-Bathoul Al-Ahmadieh 4-1. Trailing 2-3 after the opening round, she unleashed a barrage of punches over the final two rounds to turn the contest around.

Arundhati completed the women’s golden sweep with a unanimous 5-0 victory over England’s world championship bronze medallist Chantelle Reid in the 70kg final.

Spurred on by chants of “Bajrang Bali Jai”, the Rajasthan boxer celebrated her triumph with a bow-and-arrow gesture.

“The celebration was to send all the negative talk away. I dedicate this win to my family, who have made a lot of sacrifices for me,” she said.

Sachin produced one of the comebacks of the day. Trailing after the opening round and suffering a point deduction in the final round, he forced a standing count against Namibia’s Tryagain Morning Ndevelo before clinching a dramatic 3-2 split verdict.

“Even though I was losing the first round, I knew I could win the bout,” Sachin said.

Ankush then capped India’s golden evening with a composed 4-1 victory over England’s Dimeji Shittu. Despite being booed by the home crowd, the Army boxer remained unfazed and boxed with discipline throughout.

Lovlina, however, fell just short, losing a closely fought women’s 75kg final to Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree.

Narender also had to settle for silver after going down to England’s Damar Thomas in the super-heavyweight final.

Jadumani ended with silver after losing 0-5 to Australia’s Jye Dixon in the 55kg title clash. The Indian had taken the opening round 3-2 after overcoming the height disadvantage, but Dixon responded emphatically with a dominant second round before carrying the momentum into the decider to deny India an eighth gold.