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Indian boxer Preeti Pawar dedicated her assured medal at the Commonwealth Games 2026 to the people of India and said she will give her best in the women's 54kg gold medal bout after storming into the final with a dominant semifinal victory over Zambia's Catherine Mwape in Glasgow.
Speaking to ANI in Glasgow after her semifinal victory, Preeti said she feels no pressure ahead of the final but will prepare a fresh game plan for her next opponent and give her best effort. She dedicated her assured medal to the people of India, thanking them for their support, prayers and blessings. "There's no pressure, but of course, it's the final, so I'll have to prepare more for it. I'll make my game plan according to that and give my best. I have very little time, but I'll prepare now for the next opponent and how I need to fight," she said. "This [medal] is for everyone because the whole of India has high hopes for me and everyone's prayers and blessings are with me. Everyone has supported me, and this medal is for everyone," she said. The Indian pugilist, who had already secured at least a bronze medal by reaching the semifinals, was in complete control throughout the bout. Boxing from the southpaw stance, Preeti dictated the opening round with sharp combinations and intelligent movement, forcing a standing count on Mwape before taking the round 5-0, with three judges scoring it 10-8, according to ESPN. Mwape attempted to increase the pressure in the second round, but Preeti continued to outclass her with precise counter-punching. Another standing count for the Zambian underlined the Indian's dominance as all five judges again awarded the round 10-8 to Preeti. The Zambian came out aggressively in the final round, but Preeti remained composed, landing clean body shots and left-right combinations to comfortably close out the contest. The Indian sealed a unanimous decision to book her place in the gold medal bout. Preeti will take on Canada's Scarlett Delgado in the women's 54kg final on Saturday as she looks to add a Commonwealth Games gold to the World Cup and Asian Championships titles she won earlier this year. India have won 17 medals so far at the Commonwealth Games 2026, comprising three gold, nine silver and five bronze. The gold medals have come through Mirabai Chanu (women's 48kg weightlifting), Sharmila Dhankar (women's shot put F57) and Dilip Gavit (men's 100m T47). India have also claimed silver medals through Rishikanta Singh, Muthupandi Raja, Gyaneshwari Yadav, Sarvesh Kushare, Valluri Ajaya Babu, Harjinder Kaur, Gulveer Singh, Murali Sreeshankar, Mohammed Basil and Lovepreet Singh, while bronze medals have been won by Jhandu Kumar, Bindyarani Devi, Shilpa K Shyla and Seema Kaliramna. (ANI)
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