India's Sakshi reaches boxing quarterfinals, Mirab...

By Rohan Gupta — 27 July 2026 — 3 min read

At the Commonwealth Games 2026, India saw mixed results across various events. Sakshi advanced to the quarterfinals in the Women’s 51kg Boxing category, while Putul Sonowal exited the Lawn Bowls men’s singles competition. In weightlifting, Mirabai Chanu secured a gold medal, marking India’s first gold at the games.

Boxing and Lawn Bowls Updates

Sakshi moved into the quarterfinals of the Women’s 51kg Boxing event. This progression keeps India’s hopes alive in the boxing competition.

However, Putul Sonowal’s campaign in the men’s singles lawn bowls concluded after a 1.5-0.5 defeat to Kenya’s Hamada in his final sectional match. Despite a strong comeback in the sixth end, where he gained two points to take a 5-4 lead, Putul could not secure a tiebreak. Hamada’s final delivery in the decisive seventh end ensured the second set ended 5-5, sealing the match. Putul finished fifth in the standings with two wins and three losses.

In another lawn bowls event, the team of Reena Gupta, Laxmi Rayannavar, Ritu Irengbam, and Minakshi Jadhav faced a narrow 7-6 defeat against Nigeria, which led to their elimination from quarterfinal contention.

Weightlifting and Aquatics Highlights

Mirabai Chanu earned India’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the women’s 48kg weightlifting category. She competed with butterfly-shaped hair clips made from tricolour ribbons, a gesture she described as a tribute to India. Mirabai expressed her joy and emotion, stating that seeing the flag and hearing the national anthem brought tears of happiness.

In the clean and jerk competition, several lifters surpassed the 100kg mark. South Africa’s Anneke Spies-Burger successfully lifted 101kg, while 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 attempt, with her declared opening weight set at 113kg, currently the highest starting lift in the field. Nigeria’s Rafiatu Lawal is also expected to increase her opening weight.

Earlier, Bindyarani matched Pratt’s third attempt of 87kg with a successful lift of her own. Bindyarani maintained her lead over Pratt on countback, having registered 85kg as her second-best lift compared to Pratt’s 84kg.

In swimming, Swatik Patil secured a fifth-place finish in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB9 event, clocking 1:15.82. Australia’s Beau Matthews won the gold medal with a time of 1:09.41, followed by New Zealand’s Joshua Willmer with silver and Australia’s Timothy Hodge with bronze. Swatik Patil had previously qualified for the final by finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 1:15.85. The SB9 classification includes swimmers with specific physical impairments affecting their legs or feet.

Track and Field Prospects

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 he could be a strong contender for a medal. His national record time would have placed him as the third-fastest across the heats, while his qualifying mark was the seventh-fastest overall. The final is scheduled for 2:15 AM.

The men’s 100m breaststroke SB9 final is scheduled to be held at 12:02 AM on Tuesday, July 28.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com