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India's Jadumani Singh signed off with a silver medal in the men's 55kg boxing event at the Commonwealth Games 2026 after suffering a unanimous decision defeat to Australia's Jye Dixon in a hard-fought final on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Indian pugilist pushed Dixon throughout the three-round contest, but the Australian's composed counter-punching and cleaner scoring shots proved decisive as all five judges awarded him the bout to hand Australia the gold medal, according to ESPN. The opening round was a closely contested affair. Dixon started brightly, using his backhand punches to keep Jadumani at bay while the Indian struggled to find his rhythm in the early exchanges. However, Jadumani finished the round strongly, landing a series of telling punches in the closing moments to edge the frame 3-2 on the judges' scorecards. Dixon responded emphatically in the second round. Jadumani looked to impose himself with powerful left hooks, but the Australian stood firm and repeatedly punished the Indian with crisp counter-punches. Although Jadumani again produced a late flurry in the final 10 seconds, the judges unanimously awarded the round to Dixon 5-0, bringing the contest level heading into the decisive final round. Knowing he had regained control of the bout, Dixon adopted a measured approach in the third round, relying on disciplined movement and accurate counter-attacks as Jadumani pressed forward in search of the decisive blows. The Australian continued to land the cleaner punches through the middle of the round before weathering another late surge from the Indian in the closing seconds. Despite Jadumani's relentless attacking intent until the final bell, Dixon's tactical discipline and superior shot selection earned him a unanimous verdict and the Commonwealth Games title, while the Indian settled for a well-deserved silver medal. The silver capped an outstanding debut Commonwealth Games campaign for the Manipur boxer, who enjoyed a dominant run to the final. Jadumani began his campaign by defeating Scotland's Aaron Cullen 5-0 in the round of 32 before registering another unanimous 5-0 victory over Pakistan's Sumama Rehman in the round of 16, a win he dedicated to the heroes of the Kargil War. He then booked his place on the podium with a flawless 5-0 win over Zambia's Mwengo Mwale in the quarter-finals before producing another commanding performance to beat Namibia's Philip Haoseb by the same margin in the semi-finals. Although he fell one step short of gold against Dixon, Jadumani's silver medal marked a memorable breakthrough at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (ANI)
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