Haryana quartet win boxing golds at 2026 Commonwealth Games

Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti Sai Pawar, Jaismine Lamboria and Priya Ghanghas from Haryana won gold medals in boxing at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, which concluded on August 2; their homecoming in Dhanana village, Bhiwani, was under way on the overcast morning of August 4. Large-scale preparations in the village included processions, banners and public felicitation plans to mark the return of the champions.

In Dhanana a kothi was being readied with painters working despite drizzle, while Sakshi Chaudhary’s father, Manoj Dhanda, arranged a ministerial felicitation and village festivities including food and seating; Kaptan Ghanghas organised banners and vehicles for a 20-kilometre procession and invitations were sent to 84 khap panchayats. India’s boxing contingent at the Glasgow Games finished with 10 medals — seven gold and three silver — and four of the golds were won by women raised in Bhiwani: Sakshi (51 kg), Preeti (54 kg), Jaismine (57 kg) and Priya (60 kg), from a region often described as India’s Mini Cuba of boxing.

Sakshi Chaudhary’s pathway to the podium began at age 12 after she scored "a perfect 21 out of 21 points" at a Haryana talent-identification programme, according to Manoj; her elder brother Aman is now a Captain in the Indian Army and Sakshi herself serves as a havaldar. In Glasgow she dominated England’s Ruby White over three rounds in the 51-kg final, ending White’s unbeaten streak of 68 consecutive fights, and Manoj said: "We spoke to Sakshi a day before the final. She told us she would give it her best shot. We watched every second of the bout with bated breath. When the referee raised her hand, what we felt is beyond words." Sakshi’s mother Sheila, who played kabaddi as a teenager, said she has learned boxing terminology and added, "I’m just waiting to hug her."

Priya Ghanghas, 20, whose family recently moved from Dhanana to Dabra Colony in Bhiwani, returned home to preparations that included a cake and a welcoming meal; her mother Meera said: "I had prepared churma (mashed up roti in ghee and jaggery) for her. She was happy to eat it after returning home." Priya’s family recalled channeling childhood energy into sport; Priya joined the Indian Railways in October 2025 and claimed Commonwealth gold in Glasgow.

Jaismine Lamboria, 25, identified in the report as the first woman boxer to join the Indian Army, comes from a boxing family whose great-grandfather, Captain Hawa Singh, won the National Championships for 11 consecutive years and whose uncles Sandeep and Parvinder fought internationally. Jaismine fought through a prolonged illness and weight loss before the Games but reached the final and defeated a former Commonwealth champion; she said, "For me, the focus was never on my opponent’s reputation but on giving my best in the ring," and offered advice to aspiring boxers: "You are second to none. Choose your dream, keep moving forward, and never stop until you achieve it. Always remember, you are strong."

Preeti Sai Pawar moved from Badesara in Bhiwani to Meham in Rohtak with her family for better opportunities, and initially preferred academics over sport, recalling: "I kept telling my father that I would rather study." The daughter of a Haryana Police Assistant Sub-Inspector, Preeti won bronze at the 2022 Asian Games, represented India at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and took gold at the Asian Boxing Elite Championships in March 2026; at the Commonwealth Games she controlled the final against a Canadian opponent and earned victory, and last December she became the first woman boxer to be directly recruited into the Indian Army as a Junior Commissioned Officer (naib subedar). Preeti is in the final year of a B.Sc. in Health and Physical Education at Lovely Professional University, which facilitated online examinations during competitions.

Local figures and coaches described wider social effects in Bhiwani and neighbouring Charkhi Dadri, citing a shift in attitudes toward girls: in 2011 Bhiwani recorded 886 females per 1,000 males compared with the national average of 943, and Sheila said, "People are focusing more on their daughters than their sons." Kaptan credited Manoj Dhanda with persuading families to let daughters box and noted past champions such as Nitu Ghanghas; Wazir Singh said a public felicitation is planned and that "If these girls can do it, then the daughters of every family here can do it." Jagdish Singh, founder of the Bhiwani Boxing Club, said female participation rose after earlier successes and that his club runs a hostel for 20 girls, 16 of whom currently stay there, while Vijender Singh noted that the five Bhiwani gold medallists come from nearby villages such as Mittathal, Dhanana and Badesara and observed: "Most of them in these villages want to escape poverty and make a name. That hunger is what drives Bhiwani boxing."

The four women boxers have overcome distinct obstacles and now share a common objective: to make it to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.