CWG 2026 July 29 wrap: Gavit secures India's 3rd gold, Sreeshankar, boxers shine
It was a day to remember for India in para athletics on Wednesday, July 29 as Dilip Mahadu Gavit and Mohammed Basil completed a historic 1-2 to clinch gold and silver. Murali Sreeshankar completed his fairytale return to CWG by clinching his second silver medal during the men’s high jump final.
Commonwealth Games 2026 July 29: Highlights
India’s boxers shone bright on the day, ensuring six more medals to ensure that boxing will surpass the haul last time around in Birmingham. There were many more moments of joy for India as Animesh Kujur marched into the 200 m semifinals, while Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill reached the final of the men’s shot put.
The sensational form in lawn bowls continued with Indian pair Navneet Singh and Dinesh Kumar beating Namibia to continue their fine form.
GAVIT, BASIL’S DAY OUT
India’s para athletics contingent delivered one of its finest moments at the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Wednesday as Dilip Mahadu Gavit stormed to gold in the men’s 100m T47, while compatriot Mohammed Basil Morssinganakath secured silver to complete a dominant Indian one-two in Glasgow.
Gavit produced a sensational run, clocking 10.71 seconds to break the Commonwealth Games record while also registering his season’s best performance. Basil wasn’t far behind, crossing the finish line in 10.83 seconds to claim silver with his own season-best effort, capping a memorable race for the Indian duo.
The victory also gave India its third gold medal of the Glasgow Games. Earlier, Mirabai Chanu had opened the country’s gold account in the women’s 48kg weightlifting event before Sharmila Dhankar added another top podium finish in the women’s F57 shot put competition.
SREESHANKAR LEAPS TO SILVER
Murali Sreeshankar continued his impressive run at the Commonwealth Games by claiming his second consecutive silver medal in the men’s long jump after recording a best effort of 8.09m.
The Indian opened with a jump of 8.03m, which left him in third place behind Scotland’s Stephen McKenzie and Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle, both of whom had registered identical marks of 8.08m in the early stages of the competition.
Sreeshankar then improved to 8.09m, a leap that briefly propelled him to the top of the standings. However, Gayle responded with a decisive 8.15m effort to reclaim the lead and ultimately secure the gold medal.
McKenzie held on to the bronze with his 8.08m jump, while India’s Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth after managing a best attempt of 7.97m.
BOXERS’ MEDAL RUSH
India’s boxing contingent continued its dominant run in Glasgow, with six more pugilists sealing semifinal berths on Wednesday to take the country’s guaranteed medal tally in the sport to 10.
Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg) and reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) all progressed to the last four. They joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jadumani Singh (55kg), who had already booked their semifinal spots earlier in the competition.
Jaismine capped off India’s impressive day in the ring by edging past England’s Elise Glynn 4-1 in a hard-fought women’s 57kg quarterfinal. The Birmingham bronze medallist held her nerve in a closely fought contest to secure another assured medal for the country.
The six victories on Wednesday increased India’s semifinal count to 10, guaranteeing at least 10 bronze medals from boxing. In the process, the Indian contingent has already surpassed its entire boxing haul from the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where it finished with seven medals — three gold, one silver and three bronze.
INDIAN HURDLERS IN FINAL
India also had reason to celebrate on the track, with Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh K Tamilarasan securing places in the men’s 400m hurdles final after advancing as the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers.
Competing in Heat 2, Santhosh clocked 49.51 seconds to finish third, while Yashas produced a time of 49.65 seconds to claim third place in Heat 1.
Although both narrowly missed out on direct qualification, their timings proved good enough to earn the final two spots available on time. Santhosh progressed as the seventh-fastest athlete overall, with Yashas advancing in eighth place to complete the final lineup.
ANIMESH SETS THE PACE, DOUBLE QUALIFICATION IN SHOT PUT
India continued to impress in athletics at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday as Animesh Kujur booked his place in the men’s 200m semi-finals, while shot putters Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill advanced to the final.
With Gurindervir Singh’s 100m campaign ending in disappointment earlier in the Games, Kujur kept India’s sprint hopes alive by producing a season-best 20.46 seconds to win Heat 4 of the opening round. His performance placed him seventh overall across the heats, ensuring a comfortable passage to the semi-finals.
India also enjoyed a strong outing in the men’s shot put qualification. Former national record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor sealed automatic qualification with a best throw of 20.14m, improving on his opening effort of 19.93m to clear the 20m qualifying mark. His throw was second only to defending champion Tom Walsh of New Zealand, who led the field with 21.03m, allowing Toor to skip his final attempt.
Samardeep Singh Gill also secured a place in the final despite falling just short of the automatic standard. The 25-year-old recorded a best effort of 19.95m from his opening throw, which proved enough to see him finish fifth overall across the qualification rounds and earn one of the remaining spots in the final.
LAWN BOWLS GLORY
India extended their unbeaten run in lawn bowls at the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday, with the men’s pairs team and Nayanmoni Saikia both registering impressive victories in Glasgow.
The men’s pairs combination of Navneet Singh and Dinesh Kumar made it two wins from two matches in Section B after overcoming Namibia in straight sets. After edging the Cook Islands in a tie-break on Tuesday, the Indian duo once again showed resilience, recovering from a 0-3 deficit in the opening set by reeling off five unanswered points to claim it 5-3.
They carried that momentum into the second set, racing to a 2-0 lead before stretching the advantage to 6-1 through disciplined shot-making and smart tactical play. Namibia reduced the deficit late on, but India comfortably wrapped up the set 6-3 to secure another group-stage victory.
In the women’s singles, Nayanmoni Saikia delivered a dominant display against the Isle of Man’s Caroline Whitehead in a Section C contest. The Indian controlled the match from the outset, cruising through the opening set 11-2 before sealing the second 7-4 to complete a convincing straight-sets win.
HEARTBREAK FOR MANPREET, PARA SWIMMERS, SWIMMERS
Apart from the big wins, there were a few moments of heartbreak for the Indian contingent as well. Manpreet Kaur looked to be destined for a medal but was pipped at the very end as she finished fourth in the women’s shot put final.
Manpreet produced a best throw of 17.49 m before Lloydricia Cameron went to third with her final throw. Manpreet’s final throw was a foul one, meaning she had to settle for fourth.
In the men’s 50m Freestyle S7 final, Suyash Narayan Jadhav was denied a medal by a margin of 0.3 seconds as he finished fourth. Chaithanya Vishwas Kulkarni finished fifth.
The swimmers also failed to impress with Sajan Prakash and Aneesh S Gowda failing to qualify for the men’s 200m freestyle final. Aryan Nehra finished seventh in the 1500m men’s final.
PARUL CHAUDHARY FAILS TO IMPRESS
Parul had to settle for fifth place in the women’s 3000m steeplechase after clocking 9:26.75, well outside her national record time of 9:12.46.
The Indian star was off the pace from the get-go and struggled to regain momentum well before the business end of the race. She finished almost 25 seconds behind the eventual winner, Kenya’s Faith Cherotich.
– Ends
