Glasgow, July 25, 2026: Pakistan’s boxing team made an impressive start to its Commonwealth Games campaign as Afzal Khan and Fatima Zehra secured convincing victories at the SEC Centre in Glasgow on Friday, advancing to the knockout stages of their respective events.
Afzal Khan delivered Pakistan’s first victory of the Games by defeating Jovanie Bouzin of Seychelles through a unanimous decision in the men’s 65kg bout to book his place in the round of 16.
The Pakistani boxer adopted a measured approach in the opening round, relying on accurate punching and superior technique to edge the contest despite Bouzin’s aggressive style. Four of the five judges awarded the opening round to Afzal.
He asserted greater control in the second round by pressing his opponent against the ropes and landing the cleaner shots. Although Bouzin briefly connected with a straight right hand, Afzal remained composed and dominated the exchanges, earning all five judges’ votes.
With Bouzin needing a knockout in the final round, the Seychellois boxer attacked aggressively, but Afzal displayed excellent defensive movement before sealing his dominance with a sharp left hook that sent his opponent to the canvas, prompting the referee to issue a standing count. Afzal was awarded a unanimous decision to progress to the next round.
Pakistan’s winning momentum continued in the women’s 50kg category, where Fatima Zehra delivered a commanding performance against Realeboha Segoete of Lesotho to reach the quarter-finals.
The 22-year-old overwhelmed her opponent, scoring three knockdowns over two rounds before the referee stopped the contest.
Fatima recorded her first knockdown in the opening round, which she comfortably won on all five judges’ scorecards. She continued her dominance in the second round with two more knockdowns, the third coming late in the round and forcing the referee to halt the bout.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s swimmers were unable to advance beyond the heats.
Jehanara Nabi finished first in her heat of the women’s 50m butterfly with a time of 29.99 seconds, placing 40th overall among 52 competitors, well outside the top-16 required to qualify for the semi-finals.
In the men’s 200m individual medley, Ahmad Durrani clocked 2:09.79 to finish 17th among 22 swimmers, missing out on a place in the final.
Pakistan also suffered a setback in lawn bowls, where Ayub Qureshi lost his opening men’s singles match to Wales’ Ross Owen. Owen claimed the contest in straight sets, winning the first 12-5 before completing a dominant 17-0 victory in the second.
