Narender Berwal joined Ankush Panghal, Sakshi Chaudhary, Arundhati Choudhary and Sachin Siwach in the semifinals, making it five wins out of five bouts for the country
GLASGOW — It was a flawless day for India's boxing contingent at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday as Narender Berwal joined Ankush Panghal, Sakshi Chaudhary, Arundhati Choudhary and Sachin Siwach in the semifinals, making it five wins out of five bouts for the country on the day. With the five wins on Wednesday, the number of Indian boxers in the semifinals rose to nine as the feat has already eclipsed India's boxing tally from the Birmingham 2022, where the country had finished with seven medals -- three gold, one silver and three bronze.
The five boxers on the day joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jadumani Singh (55kg), who have already secured semifinal berths.
While Sakshi (51kg) defeated Northern Ireland's Caitlin Fryers 5-0, Arundhati (70kg) had to work hard for her 3-1 win against New Zealand's Morgan Henderson to assure themselves of at least a bronze medal.
Former world youth champion Siwach also assured himself of at least a bronze after storming into the men's 60kg semifinals.
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The world No. 5 Indian outclassed Botswana's Treasure Moremi 5-0 by unanimous decision, producing a composed performance and winning convincingly on all five judges' scorecards.
In the fourth bout of the session, last year's World Boxing Cup Finals silver medallist Ankush Panghal entered the men's 80kg semifinals with a commanding 5-0 unanimous decision over Seychelles' Jade Micock.
Later Asian Games bronze medallist Narender Berwal also advanced after edging Samoa's Michael Seko 3-2 by split decision in a hard-fought men's 90+kg quarterfinal.
In a contest marked by repeated referee interventions and two point deductions against the Indian, Berwal twice forced standing counts on Seko, including in the decisive final round.
The judges eventually ruled 3-2 in Berwal's favour, making him the fifth Indian boxer to reach the semifinals on the day.
Earlier in the day, making full use of her height and reach advantage, Sakshi, who has moved down from the 54kg weight class, dictated the contest from the opening bell, keeping Fryers at bay with crisp, accurate jabs and well-timed 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.
The Irish boxer tried to unsettle Sakshi with constant aggression, throwing punches in volume, but the Indian remained composed, slipping and evading most of the attacks before responding with cleaner, more effective combinations.
The bout featured frequent clinches as both boxers got tangled at close quarters, even tumbling to the canvas during one exchange in round 2. But Sakshi never lost control of the contest.
Despite Fryers' relentless pressure, Sakshi controlled the distance brilliantly, using her superior footwork and ringcraft to dictate the pace from start to finish and seal a comfortable victory.