India's boxing contingent has gathered further momentum on Wednesday as five more boxers stormed into the semifinals, taking the country's tally of assured medals to nine and already surpassing its overall boxing haul from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jadumani Singh (55kg) in the last four of their respective categories at the ongoing Commonwealth Games.
India claimed seven medals in the boxing events at the Birmingham Games, including three gold, one silver, and three bronze medals.
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Jaismine Lamboria, who is also a World Championships medallist, will compete in her quarterfinal later in the day in the women's 57kg weight category.
Sakshi delivered a dominant performance, defeating Northern Ireland's Caitlin Fryers 5-0, while world No. 5 Sachin also secured a convincing 5-0 victory over Treasure Moremi. Arundhati, however, faced a tougher challenge and fought hard to beat New Zealand's Morgan Henderson 3-1.
Ankush was equally dominant, cruising to a 5-0 unanimous decision over Seychelles' Jade Micock, while Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal survived a bruising contest to edge Samoa's Michael Seko 3-2.
Making full use of her height and reach advantage after moving down from 54kg, Sakshi controlled the contest from the opening bell, repeatedly catching Fryers with sharp jabs and straight punches.
"Her strategy was to fight from close range and she kept clinching. Mine was to box from long range, which is my forte," Sakshi told PTI after the bout.
Arundhati's hard-fought win
Arundhati secured a hard-fought 3-1 victory over New Zealand's Morgan Henderson in a closely contested bout.
Henderson tried to turn the fight into a physical contest, using her strength to push, grapple and tie up the Indian boxer in close-range exchanges.
However, Arundhati kept her composure and avoided getting drawn into the physical battle, instead choosing her moments carefully to land cleaner and more effective punches.
"She looked more like a wrestler than a boxer. Bohot giraya usne mujhe. In India I'm considered a strong boxer but I didn't feel so today, she was literally throwing me around," Arundhati said with a laugh after the bout, reported by PTI.
"But I kept hitting scoring punches so I got the win."
Sachin, Ankush cruise; Berwal survives thriller
One of India's strongest gold medal contenders, former world youth champion Sachin, had a comfortable outing against Moremi.
After a cautious start, Sachin gradually took charge of the bout with sharp hooks, precise counters and better timing. Having faced tougher challenges in the earlier rounds, the Indian boxer appeared more composed and confident as the contest progressed.
"When the difficult opponents are out of the way early on, you feel a lot freer," he said.
Berwal secured a gritty win
The heavyweight quarterfinal turned into a bruising battle marked by repeated referee interventions.
"There is no fun in getting a medal till you don't win against tough opponents," Berwal said.
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Leading by an identical 4-1 margin after the first and second round, Berwal was given two point deductions.
"After I was given the warning coaches told me 'karo ya maro', and I went all out," he added.
He twice forced standing counts on Seko, including in the decisive final round, with his powerful combinations eventually proving enough for a narrow 3-2 split-decision victory.
(With PTI inputs.)
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