India’s Sakshi reaches boxing quarterfinals, Mirabai Chanu wins gold
Boxing and Lawn Bowls Updates
India‘s Sakshi has advanced to the quarterfinals in the Women’s 51kg Boxing event. Meanwhile, Putul Sonowal of India has exited the men’s singles lawn bowls competition after a defeat to Kenya‘s Hamada. Sonowal lost 1.5-0.5 in his final sectional match at the Commonwealth Games 2026. Despite a strong effort in the sixth end, where he gained two points to lead 5-4, the decisive seventh end saw both players struggle for accuracy. Hamada secured the win with a final delivery that finished closest to the jack, ending the second set 5-5 and sealing the match.
Sonowal concluded his singles campaign in fifth place in the standings, recording two wins and three losses. In another team event, India‘s Reena Gupta, Laxmi Rayannavar, Ritu Irengbam, and Minakshi Jadhav faced a narrow defeat against Nigeria, losing 7-6, which led to their elimination from quarterfinal contention.
Swimming and Hurdles Progress
In swimming, Swatik Patil of India secured a fifth-place finish in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB9 event, with a time of 1:15.82. Australia‘s Beau Matthews earned the gold medal in this event, clocking 1:09.41. New Zealand‘s Joshua Willmer took silver, and Australia‘s Timothy Hodge claimed bronze. Earlier, Patil had qualified for the final by finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 1:15.85, securing an automatic spot in the final scheduled for 12:02 AM on Tuesday, July 28.
Indian hurdler Tejas Shirse has qualified for the men’s 110m hurdles final, clocking 13.76 seconds. His personal best of 13.27 seconds, which is also the national record, suggests potential for a strong performance in the final. If Shirse can achieve a time close to his personal best, he could be a contender for a medal. His national record time would have placed him as the third-fastest across the heats, while his qualifying time was the seventh-fastest overall. The final is scheduled for 2:15 AM.
Weightlifting Highlights
In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu secured a gold medal in the women’s 48kg category. This marks her first gold medal for India at these Commonwealth Games. Chanu, a three-time Commonwealth Games champion and Olympic silver medallist, expressed her patriotism by wearing butterfly-shaped hair clips made from tricolour ribbons during her performance. She stated that she made these clips the night before to show her dedication to India.
During the medal ceremony, Chanu was visibly emotional as the Indian national anthem played. She described these emotions as tears of joy, attributing them to winning the first gold medal for India and thanking the people of India for their prayers. In other weightlifting news, the clean and jerk competition is underway, with several lifters exceeding the 100kg mark. South Africa‘s Anneke Spies-Burger successfully lifted 101kg, and Australia‘s Ashley Kolomoisky cleared 100kg before improving to 104kg. Wales‘ Catrin Haf Jones achieved a personal best with a 106kg lift.
India‘s Bindyarani Devi is yet to make her first clean and jerk attempt, with her declared opening weight set at 113kg, which is currently the highest starting lift in the field. Nigeria‘s Rafiatu Lawal is also expected to increase her opening weight. Bindyarani matched Pratt‘s 87kg lift on her third attempt. Bindyarani maintained an advantage over Pratt on countback, having registered 85kg as her second-best lift compared to Pratt’s 84kg.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
