Glasgow [Scotland], July 24 : Indian athletes continued their campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games with a series of encouraging performances across swimming, lawn bowls, powerlifting and gymnastics, with several competitors advancing to the next stages.
In swimming, RVVBK Budigina and Ali Imam competed in the men's 100m freestyle S13 heats.
Budigina finished third in his heat, while Imam secured eighth place. Both swimmers progressed to the final, keeping India's medal hopes alive in the event, according to ESPN.
Srihari Nataraj also advanced to the next stage of his event after finishing fifth in the men's 50m backstroke heat. His overall ranking of 14th was enough to secure a place in the semifinals.
Nataraj's progression adds to India's representation in the swimming, with the Indian swimmer looking to make his mark as the competition progresses.
In lawn bowls, India's women's pairs combination of Rupa Rani Tirkey and Pinki Singh registered a convincing 2-0 victory over South Africa's Thabelo Muvhango and Jacqui van Rensburg in their sectional round two match.
The Indian pair, who have been part of India's successful lawn bowls campaign in recent major competitions, displayed composure to secure the win and strengthen their position in the sectional stage.
The victory is a positive result for the Indian duo as they continue their campaign in the women's pairs event. Rupa Rani and Pinki will be aiming to maintain their momentum in the remaining sectional matches and move closer to the knockout stages, according to ESPN.
In powerlifting, Ashok Kumar Malik and Parmjeet Kumar finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in the men's lightweight category. Malik narrowly missed out on a podium finish after ending the competition in fourth position, while Parmjeet completed his campaign in seventh place.
The Indian contingent also featured in the women's lightweight category, where Jaspreet Kaur and Suman Devi finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
Although the Indian powerlifters could not secure podium finishes in the lightweight categories, their performances added to the country's participation across a wide range of disciplines at the Games.
Gymnastics also saw Indian athletes in action, with Tapeshwarnath Das, Swathish KP, Tapan Mohanty and Yogeshwar Singh competing in the men's team and individual rounds in subdivision two.
India's prospects in the team event, as well as qualification for the individual finals, will depend on the combined results after the completion of subdivision three. The next subdivision is set to determine the final standings and the athletes who advance to the medal rounds.
The Indian gymnasts will therefore have to wait for the completion of the remaining subdivision before their final positions and qualification status are confirmed.
Commonwealth Games started on July 23 and will continue till August 2.