New Delhi: India had another productive day at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Saturday as boxer Sachin Siwach advanced to the quarter-finals and women’s lawn bowls pair Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh extended their unbeaten streak to firmly advance into the semi-finals.A day after para-weightlifter Jandu Kumar opened India’s medal account with a bronze medal, Indian athletes posted a string of encouraging performances in boxing, lawn bowls and gymnastics despite disappointing performances in swimming and wheelchair basketball.with olympic silver medalist To Mirabai Chen India will look to build on the positive momentum as she begins her title defense on Sunday.
Boxing: Sachin Siwach clears opening hurdle
Sachin Siwach, one of the top medal hopefuls in Indian boxing, advanced to the men’s 60kg pre-quarterfinals against a tough challenge from Canada’s Keoma Al-Ahmadieh.
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The 26-year-old won a 4-1 split decision in the round of 32 at the SEC Center in Glasgow, defeating an opponent he had defeated twice before.“It’s a tough match but I’ve beaten him twice before so I’m very confident,” Sachin said. “It was important for me to beat him today because it was at the Commonwealth Games.”Sivac will next face England’s William Hewitt in the round of 16.
India’s Pinky Singh (left) and Rupa Rani Tirkey. (Press Trust photo)
Lawn bowls: Rupa Pinky remains unbeaten, Sonowal suffers maiden defeat
Indian women’s doubles pair Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh continued their impressive run with a three-match win in Group B.The Birmingham 2022 Olympic gold medalists increased their chances of reaching the semi-finals by beating Tonga 2-0 in the tie-break after splitting the sets.The Indian team won the first set 5-2, and then Tonga came back to win the second set 6-4. However, Rupa and Pinky kept their cool in the tie-break to emerge victorious.The Indian duo are currently on pace to win three games from three matches against England, but fall behind the latter in terms of wins. They will face Namibia in their fourth conference match on Sunday.The men’s singles had a disappointing performance as Puttur Sonowal suffered his first defeat of the season.The Assam policeman fought back from 5-9 down in the second set but lost 0-2 (4-8, 8-9) to Malaysia’s Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple.Sonowal defeated reigning world champion Ryan Best in his opening match and followed up with another victory in a hard-fought match to remain second in the Group D standings ahead of a meeting with Malta’s Sean James Panis.
Rhythmic Gymnastics: India finish fifth in Division III
The Indian women’s artistic gymnastics team of Pranati Nayak, Nishika Agarwal, Eshita Revale and Protista Samantha completed the qualifying round with a total score of 29.850 in the floor exercise.In the women’s team and individual qualifying rounds, the foursome finished fifth with a total score of 123,000 points after winning the third division.Gymnasts competed earlier on the vault, uneven bars and balance beam before finishing their competition on the floor.
Swimming: Indian pair misses 400m freestyle final
Team India’s pool challenge came to an early end as both Dakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra failed to qualify for the men’s 400m freestyle final.Shashi Kumar finished 15th among the 27 swimmers with a time of 3:58.09, while Nehra finished 16th with a time of 4:00.26.Although Shashi Kumar finished seventh in the heats, he could not maintain the pace required to advance.
Wheelchair Basketball: Wales beat India
India once again had a tough time in the Women’s Wheelchair Basketball competition, suffering a comprehensive 16-1 defeat at the hands of Wales in Group B.India struggled to cope with Wales’ intensity throughout the match, scoring just one of their 12 attempts as their opponents dominated from start to finish.
Mirabai Chanu headlines India’s Sunday hopes
Attention now shifts to the weightlifting arena, where Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu is expected to launch her Commonwealth Games campaign and begin the defense of her title.The Indian weightlifting team, reduced from 16 to 11 due to multiple doping violations, competed despite disruptions to its build-up, with Dilbag Singh (96kg) the latest weightlifter to withdraw.Despite the setback, India remains one of the strongest weightlifting nations at the Commonwealth Games and Mirabhai is expected to medal on another day as the country looks to add to Jandu Kumar’s historic bronze medal.
