Glasgow, July 27:
Jadumani Singh outclassed Pakistan’s Sumama Rehman in a high-voltage contest while Asian Games bronze medallist Preeti Pawar barely broke a sweat as the Indian duo marched into the quarterfinals of the Commonwealth Games boxing competition here on Sunday.
Amid thunderous chants of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and “India, India” ringing around the SEC centre, the atmosphere crackled with emotion long before the opening bell of Jadumani’s bout.
The Army boxer responded in style, registering a unanimous 5-0 victory through superior technique, speed and ringcraft.
Jadumani, who had dedicated his victory to the heroes of the Kargil War on Kargil Vijay Diwas, reiterated his ambition after another commanding performance.
“I want to dedicate this win to Kargil heroes. I want to defeat everyone and get gold for India,” he said.
After a watchful opening round, Jadumani quickly figured out his opponent’s rhythm and took complete control of the contest.
He repeatedly found the target with sharp hooks and straight punches, forcing the referee to give a standing count to Rehman in the second round after a stinging right hand.
With the outcome virtually decided, Jadumani began the final round confidently, standing his ground in the centre of the ring and even inviting Rehman to attack before countering with superior speed and movement.
He is now one win away from a medal as is Preeti (54kg), who won her pre-quarterfinals contest against Deborah Mtenje of Malawi via Referee Stop Contest (RSC) decision in the second round of the bout.
Preeti, who won a bronze in the 2022 Asian Games as well as a gold in the New Delhi World Cup last year, toyed with her opponent.
The Malawi boxer faced two standing counts, one in each round, and it was enough for the referee to stop the bout with 47 seconds left in the second round. Preeti got the unanimous nod of all the five judges in the first round.
The win puts Preeti one victory away from securing her maiden Commonwealth Games medal.
The third boxer in action Aditya Pratap, however, lost his opening round 65kg bout to Uganda’s Nuhu Batte 2:3.