Sreeshankar wins second straight CWG long jump silver; India boxers assure 10 medals
Murali Sreeshankar won his second consecutive Commonwealth Games long jump silver with an 8.09-metre effort on Wednesday, while Indian boxers assured the country of 10 medals as India enjoyed a strong day at the Games.
Sreeshankar became the first Indian to win back-to-back Commonwealth Games medals in the men's long jump, following his silver at the 2022 edition. Jamaica's Tajay Gayle won gold with a Games record 8.15 metres, while Scotland's Stephen McKenzie took bronze with 8.08 metres.
India's Lokesh Sathyanathan finished fifth with a best effort of 7.97 metres.
The day also saw India make history in para athletics, with Dilip Mahadu Gavit winning gold and Mohammed Basil taking silver in the men's 100m T47. Gavit clocked a Games record and season-best 10.71 seconds, while Basil finished in 10.83 seconds.
India's boxers also delivered a strong performance, with 10 competitors reaching the semifinals and assuring the country of 10 bronze medals.
Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Arundhati Choudhary (70kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg), Ankush Panghal (80kg), Narender Berwal (+90kg) and Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) joined Lovlina Borgohain (75kg), Priya Ghanghas (60kg), Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Jadumani Singh (55kg) in the last four.
Jaismine, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Birmingham Games, defeated England's Elise Glynn 4-1 in the women's 57kg quarterfinal in the final bout of the day.
The 10 assured boxing medals have already surpassed India's total haul from Birmingham, where the country won three gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
On the track, Yashas Palaksha and Santhosh K Tamilarasan qualified for the men's 400m hurdles final as the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers. Santhosh clocked 49.51 seconds and Yashas 49.65 seconds to finish seventh and eighth overall.
National record holder Animesh Kujur also advanced to the men's 200m semifinals after winning his heat in a season-best 20.46 seconds.
There was disappointment in the women's shot put, where Manpreet Singh finished fourth with a throw of 17.49 metres.
Earlier, Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Samardeep Singh Gill qualified for the men's shot put final. Toor recorded 20.14 metres, while Gill's best effort was 19.95 metres.
India had no success in weightlifting and swimming, with Sanjana recording a Did Not Finish in the women's 77kg category and swimmers Sajan Prakash and Aneesh S Gowda failing to qualify for the men's 200m freestyle final.
Prakash finished 20th overall in 1 minute, 51.99 seconds, while Gowda was 18th in 1:51.64.
With three gold, nine silver and three bronze medals, India stood eighth in the overall standings after Day 7.
