NEW DELHI: India’s boxing contingent suffered an unexpected setback even before throwing a punch at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with nearly half of the team’s luggage missing during its journey from Belfast to Glasgow days before the competition.The 22-member Indian contingent arrived in Glasgow on Tuesday after completing a preparatory training camp in Belfast, but several bags failed to make the short flight, leaving many boxers without their training gear and ceremonial attire ahead of Thursday’s opening ceremony.Among those affected are Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), reigning world champion Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Parveen Hooda (65kg), Jadumani Singh (55kg), Kapil Pokhariya (90kg) and men’s coach C. Kuttappa, along with a few other team members.According to the PTI news agency report, according to the team members, the plane operating the Belfast-Glasgow route was relatively small, which resulted in some of the luggage being left behind.The missing luggage contains the essential training gear as well as the ceremonial clothes that the Indian boxers are expected to wear during the CWG opening ceremony.With the boxing competition scheduled to begin on Friday, the contingent is now anxiously awaiting the arrival of the luggage to avoid disruption to their final phase of preparation.Ironically, this is the second time the team encountered the same problem during the trip. A similar baggage delay occurred earlier this month while traveling from Doha to Belfast for training camp.The contingent also dealt with another logistical problem after the women’s coach was not staying in the same hotel as the boxers.
India sees another strong boxing campaign
Despite the off-field setback, India enters the Glasgow Games with high expectations.The women’s team is led by Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain, world No. 1 Jaismine Lamboria, Asian Games bronze medalist Preeti Pawar and World Cup gold medalist Arundhati Chaudhary, all of whom reached the podium at this year’s Asian Championships.Among the men, Sachin Siwach and Narender Berwal are expected to lead India’s medal challenge after their impressive performances at the continental level.At the previous Commonwealth Games, Indian boxing returned with seven medals, including three gold and one silver, and the Glasgow contingent will be hoping to maintain that rich tradition.
Mary Kom supports the medal, but tempers gold expectations
Indian boxing legend MC Mary Kom believes the team is capable of bringing home many medals, but admitted she is not expecting a gold sweep this time around.“We will win medals, but don’t expect gold. If it comes, I will be happy,” the six-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist said in an interview with PTI. “In the Commonwealth Games, we should be in at least the gold medal fights. I pray that we win everything.”The 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist said that representing India carries a huge responsibility and expressed confidence that the current crop would give it their all for the country.“I just want to give my best wishes to them. It is not easy to represent India. Everyone has a responsibility, not just to participate. They will also think of returning with medals for the country,” he said.However, Mary Kom also expressed concern over the current state of Indian boxing administration, questioning recent selection decisions and lamenting the lack of engagement between the Boxing Federation of India and former champions.