Friday, Mar 29 2024 | Time 19:48 Hrs(IST)
image
Sports


Lovlina, Sakshi cruise into quarters of Women’s World Boxing Championships

Lovlina, Sakshi cruise into quarters of Women’s World Boxing Championships

New Delhi, Mar 20(UNI) The Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and the 2021 Asian Championships bronze medallist Sakshi Choudhary put up stellar performances and registered impressive victories to advance to the quarter-finals of the Mahindra IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in New Delhi on Monday.
Living up to her name, Lovlina dominated proceedings by unleashing her attacking prowess on her opponent Vanessa Ortiz of Mexico before registering a statement 5-0 victory in the 75kg Round-of-16 match. The Assamese pugilist, who has two World Championships bronze medals under her belt, started the bout flawlessly, landing strong uppercuts and hooks to take control of the bout.
The 25-year-old carried her brilliant momentum into the next round with persistent attacks and smart footwork to which her Mexican opponent had no answer. Ultimately, Lovlina emerged victorious in the thoroughly one-sided contest to kickstart her campaign with an effortless victory.
"The opponent (Vanessa) was short in height and was attacking aggressively which is difficult to contain so my plan was to attack by keeping a distance. I am not that happy with my performance today as I think I could have done much better and I will definitely improve in my next bout. As this is my first World Championships in the 75kg category, it is a bit tough as all other boxers have been playing in this category since before but I believe that I can do well," Lovlina said after the match.
She will be up against the top-seed and the last World Championships’ bronze medallist Rady Gramane of Mozambique in the next round.
Earlier, India’s dynamic 23-year-old boxer Sakshi hardly put a foot wrong in her commanding 5-0 win against the 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist Zhazira Urakbayeva of Kazakhstan in the 52kg category pre-quarter-final. Utilising her reach to land relentless punches with both hands, the Haryana born pugilist looked to be in complete control from the word go and prevailed in the first round.
The two-time World Youth champion continued to dominate her Kazakh opponent in the next two rounds with her quick movement and smart attacking strategy to seal the victory comfortably by unanimous decision.
"The boxer from Kazakhstan (Urakbayeva) was tough, so I thought that the fight scores may go up or down but after following the strategy of the coaches and BFI, I could play well and could further dominate the bout to win by 5-0. Moreover, the people that have come to cheer further motivated me to win. My confidence is growing as the bouts progress so through the vigor and the passion that I currently possess, I am definitely focused on clinching the gold," Sakshi commented after the match.
The Indian will now square off against Wu Yu of China in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Preeti (54kg) went down fighting 3-4 in a closely-contested encounter against last World Championships’ silver medallist Jitpong Jutamas of Thailand after the bout was reviewed. The 19-year-old Indian put up a strong fight but, despite her best efforts, could not replicate the result from her last bout where she had toppled the top-seed Perijoc Lacramiora of Romania.
The two-time Olympics medallist Li Qian of China and the five-time World Championships medallist Elif Guneri of Turkey also secured contrasting victories in the 75kg category. While Qian defeated Chinese Taipei's Lin Chien-Yu with the Referee Stops the Contest (RSC) verdict in the opening round of the bout, Guneri had to fight hard before securing a close 4-1 victory against Viviane Pereira of Brazil.
Six Indians, including the reigning world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Nitu Ghanghas (48kg), Manisha Moun (57kg), Jaismine Lamboriya (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Manju Bamboriya (66kg), will compete in the pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Olympics medallists Irma Testa (57kg) of Italy, Nesthy Petecio (57kg) of Philippines, Estelle Mossely (60kg) of France and Brazil's Beatriz Iasmim Ferreira (60kg) will also be in action.
The on-going prestigious event is witnessing the participation of 324 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 65 countries fighting for the titles in the 12 weight categories. The tournament has a massive prize pool of INR 20 crore.
UNI RKM

More News

KKR opts to bowl first as Raghuvanshi makes debut, but as Impact Player

29 Mar 2024 | 7:38 PM

Bengaluru, Mar 29 (UNI) Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field first as Angkrish Raghuvanshi makes his debut, but as an Impact Player against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 10th match of the IPL 2024 at Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday.

see more..

Jamshedpur FC host Kerala Blasters FC in Saturday's double-header in ISL

29 Mar 2024 | 7:31 PM

Jamshedpur, Mar 29 (UNI) Jamshedpur FC will take on Kerala Blasters FC with a place in the playoffs at stake as the two teams square off at the JRD Tata Sports Complex in the Indian
Super League (ISL) 2023-24 match on Saturday at 7:30 pm IST.

see more..

ISL resumes with its table standings battle as Bengaluru FC hosts Odisha FC

29 Mar 2024 | 7:23 PM

Bengaluru, Mar 29 (UNI) The Indian Super League (ISL) 2023-24 action returns from the international break with Bengaluru FC hosting Odisha FC at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday at 5:00 pm IST.

see more..
I’m very proud of my players, we are living a dream : Sergio Lobera

I’m very proud of my players, we are living a dream : Sergio Lobera

29 Mar 2024 | 6:50 PM

Bhubaneswar, Mar 29 (UNI) Odisha FC head coach Sergio Lobera has truly been a globetrotter in his career.

see more..
Bangladesh excited to have Shakib back for second Test against Sri Lanka

Bangladesh excited to have Shakib back for second Test against Sri Lanka

29 Mar 2024 | 6:29 PM

Chattogram, Mar 29 (UNI) Bangladesh's interim head coach Nic Pothas is happy to have
experienced all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan back in the Test squad as they prepare to recover from
a heavy loss in the first match of the ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka.

see more..
image