Preeti Pawar defeated Scarlett Savannah Delgado of Canada in the final of the women’s 54kg boxing event on Saturday (August 1) to win a gold medal for India at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2026.
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The 22-year-old boxer from Bhiwani in Haryana, who had won a gold medal for India at the 2025 World Cup in New Delhi, won with a unanimous 5-0 decision on Saturday.
The first bout of the day ends and it’s a GOLD Medal!
Congratulations to Preeti who dominates her opponent to take the top honours! 🙌🏽🇮🇳
Lets #Cheer4Bharat 💙#WeAreTeamIndia | #TogetherWeDream pic.twitter.com/Q8UJnuFHF3
— Team India (@WeAreTeamIndia) August 1, 2026
Preeti made a commanding start to the gold-medal bout, winning the opening
round unanimously with all five judges adjudicating 10-8 in the Indian’s favour.
The World No. 3 in the bantamweight division started the second round on a positive note and continued in the same vein to emerge winner.
The 22-year-old Indian had secured a flawless 5-0 unanimous-decision victory against Zambia’s Catherine Mwape in the semifinals on Friday.
Preeti is the first boxer to win a gold medal for India at CWG 2026. India can win at least nine more gold medals in the ongoing events, with nine more boxers set to fight for gold on Saturday.
Preeti Pawar’s gold medal has taken India’s tally of Commonwealth Games boxing gold medals to 12.
Mohammed Ali Qamar was the first Indian boxer to win a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games. Qamar clinched the yellow metal in the Light Flyweight category at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Akhil Kumar won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, while three Indian boxers — Suranjoy Mayengbam, Manoj Kumar and Paramjeet Samota — secured gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Indian boxers failed to win a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but bounced back strongly, winning three gold medals each in the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Indians to win gold in boxing at CWG
| EDITION | HOST CITY | CATEGORY | ATHLETE |
| 2002 | Manchester | Light Flyweight | Mohammed Ali Qamar |
| 2006 | Melbourne | Bantamweight (54 kg) | Akhil Kumar |
| 2010 | New Delhi | Flyweight (51 kg) | Suranjoy Mayengbam |
| 2010 | New Delhi | Light welterweight (64 kg) | Manoj Kumar |
| 2010 | New Delhi | Super heavyweight (+91 kg) | Paramjeet Samota |
| 2018 | Gold Coast | Flyweight | Gaurav Solanki |
| 2018 | Gold Coast | Middleweight | Vikas Krishan Yadav |
| 2018 | Gold Coast | Light flyweight | MC Mary Kom |
| 2022 | Birmingham | Flyweight | Amit Panghal |
| 2022 | Birmingham | Minimumweight | Nitu Ghanghas |
| 2022 | Birmingham | Light flyweight | Nikhat Zareen |
| 2026 | Glasgow | Women’s 54kg | Preeti Pawar |
Preeti is now the fourth Indian female boxer to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal, after MC Mary Kom, Nitu Ghanghas and Nikhat Zareen.
Mary Kom won her only Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2018, while Nitu and Nikhat secured gold medals for India at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
