Commonwealth Games boxing: Five Indian pugilists march into semifinals

India's Sakshi Chaudhary, blue, in action at the Commonwealth Games 2026. File | Photo Credit: PTI Sakshi Chaudhary, one of India’s brightest boxing prospects, led the charge as five pugilists from the country advanced to the semifinals at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), assuring themselves of at least a Commonwealth Games bronze.Also read | ​Diminishing relevance: On the Commonwealth GamesNotably, all of them are making their Games debut. With the exception of Narender Berwal’s hard-fought contest, the Indian boxers won their bouts with a fair degree of comfort.Sakshi outclassed Caitlin Fryers of Northern Ireland to register a 5-0 victory in the women’s 51kg category. Arundhati Choudhary defeated New Zealand’s Morgan Henderson 3-1 in the women’s 70kg last-eight encounter before Sachin Siwach overcame Moremi Treasure from Botswana with a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the men’s 60kg clash.Ankush Panghal was confidence personified in his 5-0 triumph over Jade Micock of Seychelles in men’s 80kg. In the men’s 90+kg quarterfinal battle, Narender had to dig deep before edging past Samoa’s Michael Seko 3-2 in a split decision.Sachin, however, was never really stretched. It was a cagey affair, with both boxers adopting a cautious approach and reluctant to commit in attack. For much of the bout, they waited for each other to make the first move so that they could create an opening for a counter.Sachin did just enough in every round, eventually securing a comfortable unanimous decision.Ankush’s duel with Micock, too, was a tactical one, with neither willing to overcommit. There were few close-range exchanges or sustained body attacks as both preferred to be patient before launching attacks. Ankush, however, looked the sharper of the two, displaying lightning-quick reflexes to slip and evade the 19-year-old’s jabs before responding with crisp right-left combinations.The Narender-Seko quarterfinal was easily the closest and most physical contest of the day.The bout came alive after a caution-filled opening round as both of them traded punches with greater intent. Narender enjoyed the upper hand for much of the battle, landing the cleaner scoring blows and showcasing effective right-left combinations.The Indian forced Seko into two standing counts — one each in the second and third rounds — which may have proved decisive in earning him a place in the semifinal. Published - July 29, 2026 05:53 pm IST