Indian boxers Ankush and Narender Berwal secured places in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games 2026 on Wednesday in Glasgow, Scotland.
Ankush won his men’s 80kg quarterfinal match against Seychelles’ Jade Micock with a 5-0 unanimous decision, while Narender edged out Samoa’s Michael Seko in the men’s 90+kg quarterfinal with a 3-2 split decision, according to ESPN.
Ankush dominated from the beginning, taking control with aggressive punches and effective movement. He landed a strong left hook in the first round and maintained pressure on Micock throughout, with all five judges awarding him the round. The 19-year-old Micock was unable to match Ankush’s intensity in the second round as the Indian boxer continued to succeed with left-hand punches and retained control, with all judges again ruling in Ankush’s favour. In the final round, Ankush adopted a more cautious approach, maintaining distance and avoiding risks to secure another unanimous 5-0 decision, thus ensuring India another medal.
In a closely contested men’s 90+kg quarterfinal, Narender Berwal secured his place in the semifinals by narrowly defeating Michael Seko. The match ended with a 3-2 split decision. Both boxers appeared fatigued in the final round, but Narender landed a significant blow that led to a referee count against Seko. Seko recovered to continue the bout, but Narender did enough to impress the judges and confirm another medal for India.
Narender became the fifth Indian boxer to reach the semifinals on Wednesday, following earlier wins by Sachin Siwach in the men’s 60kg category, as well as Arundhati Choudhary and Sakshi Chaudhary in their respective categories.
India has so far accumulated 12 medals at the Games, including two gold, seven silver, and three bronze. The medallists include Mirabai Chanu (gold, weightlifting), Sharmila Dhankar (gold, women’s shot put F57), Rishikanta Singh (silver, weightlifting), Muthupandi Raja (silver, weightlifting), Gyaneshwari Yadav (silver, weightlifting), Sarvesh Kushare (silver, men’s high jump), Gulveer Singh (silver, men’s 10,000m), Harjinder Kaur (silver, weightlifting), Valluri Ajaya Babu (silver, weightlifting), Bindyarani Devi (bronze, weightlifting), Shilpa K. Shyla (bronze, women’s shot put F57), and Jhandu Kumar (bronze, para powerlifting).