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Indian boxer Arundhati Choudhary expressed delight after reaching the women's 70kg semifinals at the Commonwealth Games 2026 in Glasgow after defeating New Zealand's Morgan Henderson in the quarterfinal on Wednesday and vowed to go for a gold medal.
Arundhati produced a composed performance in a closely fought contest, edging the first round 3-2 before taking control in the second round. Despite Henderson's aggressive approach, the Indian boxer stayed patient, relying on her movement and effective punches to take the third round via a 3-1 split decision and secure victory, according to ESPN. The win assured Arundhati of a medal as she will now compete in the semifinals with a chance to progress to the gold medal bout. Speaking to ANI, Arundhati dedicated her victory to her younger brother and said she was happy with the result despite a tough bout. She added that winning gold remains the team's goal and credited her hard work and confidence for her success. "It feels very good. I would like to dedicate my victory to my younger brother. And today was not easy, but a good result came. We have come here only to get the gold. This was just a step. I have worked so hard; there was a lot of hard work, so I knew that whichever bout I go to play, I will definitely come back winning," she said. Arundhati's coach Khimanand Belwal said the team is aiming for more victories in the remaining bouts and hopes to secure multiple medals. He added that the focus is on winning gold medals, while acknowledging that the competition ahead will be tough. "Yes, now there are semi-finals; we have one more bout. Now the men's [bouts] are about to start; there are three bouts. We will try for everyone to win today; hope all our medals come," he said. "That is the aim (to clinch a gold medal). We will try for all gold medals to come to us. We are fully prepared, and the opponents are also tough; we cannot take them for granted. It's a good competition, a tough competition," he added. Earlier on Wednesday, Sakshi Chaudhary advanced to the women's 51kg semifinals after defeating Northern Ireland's Caitlyn Fryers with a dominant unanimous 5-0 decision in the quarterfinal, also guaranteeing India a medal. Sakshi, who came into the Games in good form after moving back to the 51kg category and beating top Indian boxers during the trials, controlled the bout with a composed performance. She won all three rounds by identical 5-0 margins, using her movement and accurate punches to keep Fryers under pressure, according to ESPN. She will now face Canada's Amber-Jane Wall in the semifinal on Friday for a place in the gold medal bout. So far, India has enjoyed a successful campaign in Glasgow, winning 12 medals so far -- two gold, seven silver and three bronze. India's medallists are 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). (ANI)
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