Boxer Sachin Siwach survived a stern challenge before advancing to the men’s 60kg class pre-quarterfinals and the lawn bowls women’s pair of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh notched their third win on the trot on the third day of competitions in the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
On Friday, Jhandu Kumar had opened India’s medal account with a bronze in the men’s heavyweight para powerlifting competition.
Siwach, a medal prospect, beat familiar foe Keoma Al-Ahmadieh of Canada in a round of 32 clash which he won 4-1 in a split verdict in the men’s first round bout at the SEC Centre.
The 26-year-old will next face England’s William Hewitt in the round of 16.
“It was a tough bout but I had beaten him twice before so I was pretty confident,” Sachin told PTI.
“It was important for me to defeat him today because it was at the Commonwealth Games.”
India Continue To Shine In Lawn Bowls
In lawn bowls competition, Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh maintained their impressive momentum with a third straight win in women’s pairs, while Putul Sonowal tasted his first defeat after back-to-back victories in men’s singles.
Rupa and Pinki continued their dominant run, prevailing over Tonga 2–0 in the tie-breaker of women’s pairs third round match in Section B to stay on course for a berth in the semifinals.
Rupa and Pinki will face their Namibian counterparts in their fourth round match in Section B on Sunday.
India and England both have three wins in as many games in Section B of the women’s pairs sectional play but the latter are ahead on set count.
In the men’s singles, Putul Sonowal made a gritty fight but lost his men’s singles third round match 0-2 (4-8, 8-9) to Izzat Shameer Dzulkeple of Malaysia.
After losing the first, Sonowal trailed 5-9 in the second but made a remarkable recovery in the ‘End 7’. But that was not enough as the Indians lost the second set by a thin margin.
The 43-year-old Assam Police officer grabbed the headlines on Thursday by defeating reigning world champion Ryan Bester of Canada in the opening round, but was pushed to the limit before overcoming Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander in a tie-break in the second round of Section D.
He is now in the second spot in the Section D standings and faces Shaun James Parnis of Malta on Sunday.
Swimming, Wheelchair Basketball Players Disappoint
In swimming, Indians endured a disappointing outing as both Dhakshan Shashikumar (3:58.09s) and Aryan Nehra (4:00.26s) failed to qualify for the final of the 400m freestyle event.
Shashikumar (3:58.09s) and Nehra (4:00.26s) finished 15th and 16th respectively amongst the 27 swimmers in the 400m freestyle heats at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.
India also suffered heavy defeat against Wales in wheelchair women’s basketball, losing 1-16 in their Group B match.
The Indian side struggled to match Wales’ intensity and scoring efficiency, falling behind early and failing to close the gap.
Wales dominated the match from start to finish as India were found wanting in attack, converting just one of their 12 scoring attempts.
Sunday could be an exciting day for India as Olympic silver medalist Mirabai Chanu is expected to retain her Commonwealth Games crown without any difficulty. The weightlifting competition begins on Sunday, and India would look to extend its dominant record at the quadrennial event as the team seeks to overcome a doping-hit build-up.
