GLASGOW: Fatima Zahra created history on Tuesday Pakistan's First Women's Boxing CWG Medal. The 22-year-old easily made it to the semi-finals in the 60 kg category when she defeated Jordan Wilson of New Zealand by winning unanimously on points.

Fatima Zahra defeated Wilson with a clear 5-0 lead in the quarter-finals, where all the five judges found the match in favor of her. According to the system of this tournament, losers of the semi-finals get a bronze medal anyway, which means that her victory in the quarter-finals guarantees at least that much gold for Pakistan irrespective of her performance in the semi-final round in the coming days. She took control of the three round match right from the start, scoring 29-28 in four cards and 30-27 on the other card.

The Pakistani women’s boxing team had its first exposure to international competitions just in 2016, which implies that Zahra Fatima's victory comes nine years after the initial steps of the program on the international stage. Zahra's victory means that the flag of Pakistan will be hoisted at the women’s 60kg medals' awarding ceremony that will take place in the coming days.

Fatima Zahra Reacts after being Pakistan's First Women's Boxing CWG Medal

Fatima Zahra speaking about the significance of the event for the future of boxing in Pakistan said, "We are improving at boxing, but this is the indication that we are moving towards the right path. This is just our first step. We are looking for the gold also, and this will be very significant for the boxing in Pakistan." Fatima Zahra's statements clearly indicate that she has higher ambitions and she can win gold.

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Fatima Zahra is now up against Marie-Bathoul Al-Ahmadieh of Canada in the semi-final scheduled for Friday, with the gold medal match on the horizon. If she wins here, then a silver medal is assured for Pakistan at least, while the possibility of a gold medal will be opened up.

Whereas Fatima Zahra was a star at the SEC Centre, Pakistan's male boxers found it difficult to shine at these games. Qudratullah was beaten in his 60 kg contest by Northern Ireland's Jude Gallagher to be the final Pakistani male boxer to lose out in the tournament. In the contest between two left-handed and orthodox fighters, Jude Gallagher, who won the gold medal in 57 kg at the last edition in Birmingham, started with a flourish with left hook and right jab. Qudrat got in with a left, but the latter parried well to take the round.

Things got even harder for the defending champion in the second round as Qudrat was deducted one point because he could not keep his head up. Gallagher connected with a powerful left hook to the body that seemed to affect Qudrat immensely. In that particular round, Qudrat won only one judge's scorecard while the remaining four awarded points to Gallagher.

Down two rounds to none going into the crucial third round, Qudrat charged forward with a body punch and a straight left to the head. But Gallagher held him off with a patient boxing approach as he used the ring space to slow Qudrat down. Even though Qudrat managed to land a good combination right at the end, he lost the bout on a split decision.

Pakistan had also done poorly in other events at the Games. In the heats of the 400 meters men’s race, Mohammad Ismail placed 41st out of 46 runners, recording a time of 50.60 seconds, three seconds slower than his time in the National Games, while also failing to qualify among the top-16 racers. Similarly, in the heats of the 50m butterfly men’s swimming event, swimmer Hamza Asif placed 46th out of 70 swimmers, recording a time of 26.09 seconds.

Regardless of the varied performance shown by the athletes in other disciplines, what Fatima Zahra has done is one of those moments which can be considered truly historical for Pakistan in these Commonwealth Games. The medal she is sure to win is an important landmark for the history of women’s boxing in Pakistan.