Lovlina finished with a silver while fellow boxers Jaismine, Priya, Preeti, Sakshi and Arundhati took home the gold.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The people of Glasgow were warm and welcoming, displaying immense hospitality towards visitors who landed for the Commonwealth Games here.On the roads leading to the stadiums and inside the venues, the volunteers were a shining example of kindness, respect and helpfulness. They went out of their way to make everyone feel at home. True to its official slogan, ‘People Make Glasgow’, the city once again showed it’s the people who make the Games special.For many Indian athletes, the cold weather did pose a challenge and affected their performances to some extent. But they refused to use the conditions as an excuse, instead using it as an opportunity to learn and compete with dignity and pride.India’s tally of 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze was one of its best returns in the quadrennial event. It reflected the steady growth of Indian sportspersons on the Commonwealth stage and their ability to adapt to different conditions. Though it would not be fair to compare the previous editions as Glasgow was a scaled-down Games featuring only 10 sports.Boxing’s contribution to India’s overall medal tally was significant and impossible to overlook. It was easily the the country’s best-ever showing in the sport in the Games history, with a haul of 10 medals, including seven gold and three silver.The boxing arena at the Scottish Event Campus here was transformed into a sea of Indian supporters with the fans cheering at the top of their voice throughout the competition, backing the pugilists to the hilt. The competition witnessed fierce contests, with England, Canada and Northern Ireland fielding some of their top boxers.However, weightlifting was somewhat of a disappointment for India. Head coach Vijay Sharma had expected a medal haul of “around 10”, but the team could not touch double digits and finished with eight medals — one gold, six silver and a bronze.Bindyarani Devi, who had won a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in women’s 55kg, was expected to improve on that, but she ended up with a bronze in 58kg.
