New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was left in stitches while hosting India’s 2026 Commonwealth Games contingent at his residence in the national capital on Sunday, after boxer Narender Berwal narrated what his Pakistani opponent had said years ago.
Berwal recalled the hilarious incident from the 2015 World Military Games when he defeated his Pakistani opponent.
Both boxers had to be rushed to the hospital to get stitches after suffering cuts during the bout, he recalled.
Incidentally, the Army coach who had accompanied Berwal at the Games was also named Narender (Rana).
“My first-round match was against Pakistan. I got a call from the military that you cannot lose to a Pakistani opponent. I won that fight, but we suffered cuts and went to hospital to get stitches,” Berwal told PM Modi.
“You became Prime Minister for the first time in 2014. The Army coach with us (for the Military Games) was Narender Rana. After a while, he (Pakistani boxer) said, ‘Bhaijaan aapka naam Narender hai, aapke coach ka naam Narender hai, aapke PM ka naam Narendra hai toh mujhe Narender naam se nafrat ho gayi hai. (Your PM and coach are also named Narender. I have started hating this name),'” Berwal added, as reported by News18.
The Army boxer won the silver medal in the men’s +90kg event at Glasgow to cap off a record-breaking performance from Indian boxers at the CWG 2026, during which they secured 10 medals including seven gold and three silver.
Berwal is an Indian army junior commissioned officer (JCO) who won bronze medal in the 2022. Asian Games. Besides that, he’s also a two-time medalist at the Asian Championships.
This year’s Commonwealth Games turned out to be a happy hunting ground for Indian boxers. Ankush Panghal, Sachin Siwach, Jaismine Lamboria, Preeti Pawar, Sakshi Chaudhary, Arundhati Choudhary, and Priya Ghanghas returned with gold medals, while Olympic medallist Lovlina Borgohain and Jadumani Singh won a silver medal each at the recently concluded CWG 2026.
