Commonwealth Games 2026 Day 3 Wrap: Sachin Siwach, Women’s Lawn Bowls to shine
Boxer Sachin Siwach and women’s pair Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh were the stars of the show for India on Day 3 of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Saturday 25 July. Sachin overcame a tough test to make it to the men’s 60kg category before the quarterfinals, while she went on to make three women’s quarterfinals in the Indian tournament. golden run.
However, it was not a great day at the office for Putul Sonowal as he suffered his first defeat in the competition on Saturday. Indian swimmers Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra endured a rough climb in the men’s 400m freestyle. There was disappointment in the women’s wheelchair basketball 3×3 competition.
INDIA AT THE 2026 COMMONWEALTH GAMES, DAY 3: MAIN
SACHIN KEEPING MEDAL HOPE ALIVE
Sachin advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Canada’s Al-Ahmadieh by a 4-1 split in a tight opening encounter.
The Indian pugilist got off to a brighter start and impressed the judges by winning four of the five scorecards in the opening round. He followed that up with another strong display in the second, putting himself firmly in control heading into the final three minutes.
Al-Ahmadieh mounted a spirited comeback in the final round, but Sachin’s early dominance proved enough to secure the verdict and keep his campaign on track.
“It was a tough match but I had beaten him twice before so I was quite confident,” Sachin told PTI.
“It was important for me to beat him today because it was at the Commonwealth Games.
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Former world youth champion Sachin Siwach made easy work of Canada’s Keoma Ali Al Ahmadie with a 4-1 win in the men’s 60kg boxing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Englishman William Hewitt awaits him next!#SonySportsNetwork #SonyLIV pic.twitter.com/sFaxg4gAOK— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) July 25, 2026
The Indian will now face England’s William Hewitt in the pre-quarterfinals and the battle is for a place in the round of 16.
RUPA-PINKI KEEP THE DREAMS RUNNING
Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh maintained their unbeaten run in the women’s doubles competition and overcame a determined challenge from Tonga in a tie-break to register their third successive victory in the B section of the Commonwealth Games.
The Indian duo recovered from an early deficit to take the opening set 5-2 before Tonga Paris Baker and Milika Nathan hit hard, racing to a 6-0 lead and eventually taking the second set 6-4 to force a decider.
THREE On the trot!
India edged out Tonga in a thrilling tie-break to continue their unbeaten run in the Bowls Women’s Pairs.
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With the match on the line, Rupa and Pinki kept their composure in the tie-break and produced a clutch performance to seal the victory and strengthen their push to advance to the semi-finals.
SONOWAL’S BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE
India’s flawless run on grass at the 2026 Commonwealth Games came to an end on Saturday after Asian champion Putul Sonowal was beaten in straight sets by Malaysia’s Izzat Shameer Dzulkepl in the men’s singles competition.
Sonowal lost 4-8, 8-9 against the unbeaten Malaysian in his third Section D match at the Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls Centre. The defeat not only handed India their first loss of the campaign but also ended India’s unbeaten record in lawn bowls across all Games events.
After mounting dramatic comeback victories in his opening two matches, including tie-break wins over world champion Ryan Bester and Cecil Alexander of the Falkland Islands, Putul Sonowal failed to repeat his performance against a level-headed Dzulkeple.
The Malaysian soon took control, taking the opening set 8-4, despite Sonowal briefly reducing the deficit to 4-3. The Indian battled again in the second set after trailing 0-3, even taking a tactical timeout before landing a clutch shot to close the gap at 8-9. But Dzulkeple held his nerve with his final serve to complete the straight win.
After the defeat, Sonowal have a 2-1 record in Section D, while Dzulkeple remain unbeaten at the top of the table. With only the group winner advancing directly to the semi-finals, the Indian now needs to win the remaining matches convincingly and hope that other results go in his favor to stay in the medal contention.
SWIMMERS’ INTERVENTIONS CONTINUE
India’s men’s 400m freestyle challenge ended in heats as Dhakshan Shashikumar and Aryan Nehra missed out on places in the final at the Tollcross Swimming Centre.
Shashikumar was the better placed of the two Indians, finishing 15th overall in a field of 27 swimmers with a time of 3:58.09. Nehra followed just behind in 16th after clocking 4:00.26.
Racing in Heat 3, Shashikumar remained in contention during the opening half but was unable to maintain the desired pace in the closing laps. Nehra, meanwhile, competed in heat 4 and finished at the bottom of his field after trailing for most of the race.
INDIA DEFEATED BY WALES IN WOMEN’S 3X3 WHEEL BASKETBALL
India’s women’s 3×3 wheelchair basketball team suffered a heavy defeat in Group B, losing 16-1 to Wales in a one-sided match.
Wales controlled proceedings from the start, dominating both ends of the court and restricting India to a single point. The Indian side struggled to come up with scoring opportunities, converting just one of their 12 attempts during the match.
India will now look to regroup and secure positive results in the remaining group stage matches to keep their promotion hopes alive.
GYMNASTICS PROMISE
Indian gymnasts showed a lot of grit and determination, but eventually a medal eluded them during the artistic gymnastics team finals on Saturday.
Eshitaa Rewale, Prothishta Samanta, Pranati Nayak and Nishika Agarwal showed that India is on the rise in the world of gymnastics. Prothishta found herself in the vault final after a brilliant performance that earned her a score of 13.025.
India got off to a good start in the vault with all four gymnasts performing to score 36.650. But it was in the uneven round where they faltered a bit, scoring 27.4.
Some recovery was made in the third rotation as they scored a 29.1 on the balance beam. But in the last round of free practice, Nishika faltered a bit towards the end and could only score an 8.75.
It gave Wales and Singapore a chance to push forward, which they took advantage of.
– The end
Published on:
Jul 26, 2026 01:38 IST