India’s Arundhati Choudhary fought 102-degree fever to win CWG gold

Arundhati Choudhary etched her name in history by winning India’s 11th gold medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, outclassing England’s Chantelle Reid 5-0 in the women’s 70kg boxing final on Saturday. What many did not know, however, was that the 23-year-old stepped into the ring despite battling a high fever.

Arundhati’s remarkable triumph came while she was suffering from a 102-degree fever, a fact revealed by her elder sister, Charu, after the bout.

“You can see just how overjoyed we are; we can barely contain our excitement. I am incredibly proud of my sister today. She won the Commonwealth gold medal while running a fever of 102 degrees,” Charu told ANI.

Arundhati’s victory also completed a remarkable campaign for the Indian boxing team, which produced its best-ever performance at the Commonwealth Games. India finished with a record haul of five gold medals and two silvers in boxing, surpassing the previous best of three golds achieved at the 2010 Delhi, 2018 Gold Coast and 2022 Birmingham Games.

The Indian boxer delivered a composed and tactically disciplined performance against Reid, controlling the contest from the opening bell. She dictated the pace throughout, forcing the English boxer onto the back foot before securing a unanimous decision victory.

Even when the referee urged both fighters to increase the tempo midway through the final round, Arundhati remained in complete control. Reid attempted to mount a late comeback but failed to trouble the Indian, who confidently celebrated before the judges officially declared her the winner.

Arundhati’s gold added to India’s stellar boxing campaign, with Preeti Pawar (54kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (51kg), Jaismine Lamboria (57kg) and Priya Ghanghas (60kg) also winning gold medals. Jadumani Singh claimed silver in the men’s 55kg division after losing to Australia’s Jye Dixon, while Lovlina Borgohain finished runner-up in the women’s 75kg final.

A journey built on perseverance

Arundhati’s father, Suresh Choudhary, described her achievement as the culmination of years of perseverance through injuries, personal hardships and limited resources.

He recalled that Arundhati excelled in academics and initially captained her school’s basketball team while studying in Class 6 at Spring Dale School in Kota. When she decided to pursue an individual sport, she chose boxing on her father’s advice.

At the time, however, Kota had neither a proper boxing setup nor a qualified coach.

Despite searching in Kota, Jaipur and Bhopal, the family could not find a boxing coach. Eventually, local taekwondo coach Ashok Gautam stepped in and began training Arundhati by studying boxing techniques on YouTube.

The unconventional training paid off. During her first national tournament in Rohtak in 2017, Arundhati knocked out a highly-rated boxer from Haryana in the opening round, earning selection to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which later sent her to Ukraine for advanced training.

Overcoming setbacks

Her rise was far from smooth. Suresh revealed that Arundhati suffered serious injuries to both wrists during her career, requiring surgeries and metal plates in both hands. She also fractured her ankle.

The challenges extended beyond the ring. During the Paris Olympic qualifiers, Arundhati’s mother was admitted to the intensive care unit, forcing the boxer to compete while dealing with immense emotional stress.

Her mother has remained on bed rest for the past three years, while Arundhati also endured career setbacks due to injuries and what her father described as sports politics. Despite the obstacles, she refused to give up, and her Commonwealth Games gold medal now stands as the biggest achievement of her career so far.