Glasgow, July 29 (IANS) India’s Narender assured the country of another medal in boxing at the Commonwealth Games 2026 after defeating Samoa’s Michael Seko by a hard-fought 3-2 split decision in the men’s 90kg+ quarterfinals on Tuesday.

In a closely contested bout, Narender recovered strongly after dropping the opening round on one judge’s scorecard and maintained his composure in the remaining rounds to edge past the Samoan heavyweight.

Three of the five judges scored the contest 28-27 in favour of the Indian, while the other two judges awarded it 28-27 to Seko, handing Narender a narrow but well-deserved split-decision victory.

The Indian heavyweight showcased grit and resilience, landing cleaner punches in the decisive exchanges to sway the majority of the judges in an intense battle between two evenly matched boxers.

With the victory, Narender advanced to the semifinals, thereby guaranteeing himself at least a bronze medal under the Commonwealth Games boxing format, where both losing semifinalists receive bronze medals.

He will now look to carry the momentum into the last four as he eyes a place in the final and a shot at the Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Narender’s success further strengthened India’s impressive boxing campaign in Glasgow, with several Indian pugilists progressing to the semifinals and keeping the country’s hopes of a rich medal haul alive.

More to follow…

–IANS

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