CWG 2026: Young trio Preeti, Priya, Jadumani assure India of three boxing medals
India were assured of three more boxing medals at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday after Priya Ghanghas, Preeti Pawar and Jadumani Singh won their quarterfinal bouts to reach the semifinals in Glasgow. Parveen Hooda and Kapil Pokhariya, however, saw their campaigns end in the last eight.
India's young boxing brigade continued its impressive run at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday as reigning Asian champion Priya Ghanghas, Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar and Jadumani Singh won their quarterfinal bouts to assure the country of three more medals in Glasgow. It wasn't a clean sweep across the board, though: Parveen Hooda and heavyweight Kapil Pokhariya both crashed out in the last eight.
Commonwealth Games 2026, July 28: HIGHLIGHTS
Priya (60kg) fought back from a first-round deficit to beat Scotland's Niamh Mitchell 4-1 in front of a partisan home crowd, Preeti (54kg) outclassed Northern Ireland's Nicole Clyde 5-0, while Jadumani (55kg) defeated Zambia's Mwengo Mwale by unanimous decision to book their places in the semifinals.
With boxing's two losing semifinalists guaranteed bronze medals, the trio moved within one win of a place in their respective finals.
PRIYA STUNS THE HOME CROWD
The standout fight of the day came in the women’s 60kg quarterfinal, where Priya pulled off a gritty comeback win against Scotland’s Niamh Mitchell, despite the heavily partisan local crowd cheering against her.
The 20-year-old from Haryana traded blows blow-for-blow with Mitchell in the opening round, but ended up trailing after four of the five judges scored it for the Scot.
Rather than letting the deficit or the loud atmosphere rattle her, Priya turned up the heat in the second round. She constantly marched forward, putting Mitchell on the back foot with relentless pressure and clean combinations.
It was a scrappy round that saw both boxers docked a point: Priya for repeatedly dipping her head too low, and Mitchell for constantly clinching to slow down the Indian’s pace.
The penalties didn't derail Priya's momentum. She took the second round 4-1 on the scorecards, setting up a tense final round.
With a medal on the line, Priya stayed cool under pressure, landing the clearer, harder shots to clinch a memorable split-decision victory. The judges scored the bout 28-27, 28-27, 27-28, 28-27, and 29-26 in her favor.
After the fight, a smiling Priya captured the moment perfectly: "Yehi toh feeling hai, Scotland mein Scotland ko haraana." (That's the feeling, beating Scotland in Scotland.)
PREETI CRUISES THROUGH
While Priya had to dig deep, Preeti Pawar had a much easier time in her 54kg quarterfinal against Northern Ireland's Nicole Clyde, a fighter she actually sparred with during India’s prep camp in Belfast ahead of the Games.
Giving up a height advantage, the 22-year-old completely controlled the distance using her quick footwork and sharp punch selection. She repeatedly cracked through Clyde’s guard with crisp combinations to take the opening round, with four judges scoring it 10-9 and one giving her a 10-8 edge.
The second round was more of the same. Preeti's movement and precision left Clyde searching for answers, and the Indian once again swept all five scorecards to put the fight out of reach.
She kept her foot on the gas in the third, staying disciplined to lock up a dominant 5-0 unanimous decision.
The win guarantees Preeti the first Commonwealth Games medal of her career. She moves on to face Zambia’s Catherine Mwape in the semifinals.
JADUMANI DOMINATES
Jadumani Singh also sailed into the semifinals with a clinical win over Zambia's Mwengo Mwale in the men’s 55kg quarterfinal.
The boxer from Manipur controlled the pace right from the opening bell, mixing up his combinations and consistently landing the cleaner shots. Mwale never really found his rhythm, and Jadumani took a clean 5-0 sweep across all judges' scorecards to keep India's strong boxing run alive.
HEARTBREAK FOR PARVEEN AND KAPIL
It wasn't all good news for the squad, however. Parveen Hooda’s medal hopes were cut short in a tight, hard-fought 57kg bout against England’s Sacha Hickey. The Indian stayed right in the fight until the final bell but ultimately fell on the wrong side of a narrow 3-2 split decision.
Over in the men's 90kg quarterfinal, heavyweight Kapil Pokhariya couldn't get past England's Robert McNulty. McNulty dictated the pace over all three rounds, taking a unanimous 5-0 decision to end Kapil's tournament.
Preeti, Priya, and Jadumani will now turn their attention to the semifinals as India looks to push for gold in Glasgow.