CWG 2026: Arundhati Choudhary stunned defending champion Rosie Eccles of Wales in a split decision in the 70kg class, while world champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Ankush Panghal (80kg) also sailed into the Commonwealth Games final after dominant displays in their last-four round bouts here on Friday.
Arundhati beat her Wales opponent 4-0 in a messy and often ill-tempered women’s 70kg category semifinal as the Indian held on to her good show in the first two rounds, forcing Rosie to receive a standing count during that time.
Jaismine was so dominant in the semifinal bout that she won in a Referee Stops Contest (RSC) decision after the Lesotho boxer received her third standing count in the closing seconds of the second round.
Meanwhile, Preeti out-punched Zambia’s Catherine Mwape 5-0 while Ankush brushed aside Joshua Ofori by a similar margin. The 22-year-old from Bhiwani, Preeti, who is an Asian Games bronze medallist, powered to a 5-0 win to set up a clash with Canada’s Scarlett Delgado, who defeated England’s Lauren Mackie 4-1 in her semifinal bout.
The Indian outpaced Mwape for most of the bout, cleverly drawing her in for effective counter-attacks with her left straight being particularly effective. “I am very happy that I have managed to do what I prepared for. I have to give my best tomorrow (Saturday) for the gold medal. I never take my opponents lightly, and always prepare in detail with my coaches. I am happy that I am able to implement those plans,” Preeti told PTI after her win.
Mwape struggled to connect throughout and was beaten almost every time Preeti launched her combination strikes. The Zambian’s struggles were evident from the three counts she faced in the first two rounds.
Such was Preeti’s dominance that all five judges marked 10-8 in her favour in the second round. With the bout out of her grasp, Mwape spent the last three minutes evading the pounding from Preeti, who sailed through without having to work too hard.
Ankush was equally dominant against Ofori, who resorted to repeated clinching after being comprehensively outboxed in the opening two rounds. Although the Canadian launched an all-out attack at the beginning of the second round, the Indian soaked up the pressure with ease before countering with crisp combinations to seal a one-sided 5-0 verdict.