New Delhi: India enjoyed another positive day at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as boxer Sachin Siwach booked his place in the men’s 60kg quarter-finals while long jumpers M Sreeshankar and Lokesh Sathyanathan progressed to the final of their event.
Former world youth champion Sachin delivered a disciplined display to beat England’s William Hewitt 4-1 on points in the round of 16. The 26-year-old controlled the contest for most of the three rounds, winning four of the five judges’ scorecards to move a step closer to a medal.
Judges one, two, three and five scored the bout 29-27 in Sachin’s favour while the fourth judge awarded the same score to Hewitt. Despite receiving a point deduction in the final round, the Indian had already done enough to secure victory.
Sachin moves within one win of a medal
The win takes Sachin into the quarter-finals where he will face Botswana’s Treasure Moremi. Moremi advanced after edging Lesotho’s Toka Litabe by a 3-2 split decision in the round of 16.
A victory in the next bout will guarantee Sachin a Commonwealth Games medal, keeping India’s hopes alive in the boxing competition.
Sreeshankar and Sathyanathan also advances
In athletics, Commonwealth Games silver medallist M Sreeshankar comfortably qualified for the men’s long jump final with a leap of 8.01 metres, going beyond the automatic qualification mark of 8.00m in his opening attempt.
Speaking after the event, Sreeshankar said, “Qualification went quite well, it was tricky conditions for everyone. It was cold and windy and it was raining also in between but I qualified in the first attempt, so very excited for the final.”
Lokesh Sathyanathan also progressed after recording a best jump of 7.77m in Group B, which was enough to earn one of the top-12 qualifying spots. Sreeshankar, who is returning from a serious knee injury that ruled him out of the Paris Olympics, will now look to improve on the silver medal he won at the 2022 Commonwealth Games when the final takes place on Wednesday.