Sakshi, Lovlina in quarterfinals, Preeti out

New Delhi (The Hindu News): Asian Championships 2021 bronze medalist Sakshi Chowdhary and Tokyo Olympic medalist Lovlina Borgohain advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Boxing Championships after winning their respective pre-quarterfinals unanimously on Monday.

Sakshi put pressure on Kazakhstan’s Dzira Urakbayeva from the start and registered a 5-0 win in a one-sided contest in the 52kg category. Lovlina defeated Mexico’s Vanessa Ortiz 5-0 in the 75kg category.

In the championship held at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, Lovlina started her bout defensively and took time to find her rhythm. Lovlina had to play smart defense against the diminutive Ortiz, but as the bout wore on, Lovlina dominated her opponent.

Lovlina said after the victory, “The height of the opposition boxer was smaller than me. I tried to come forward and play but it is not easy to do that against a smaller boxer. I had made many plans but I could not execute them all. I could have done better. Will try to do better in the next bout.”

She said, “I am playing in the 75kg category for the first time. Other boxers are already in this category so it will be difficult for me but I will give my 100 per cent.”

Sakshi, on the other hand, made excellent use of her reach and landed punches with both hands. She looked in complete control from the start and took the first round.

The two-time world youth champion didn’t give her opponent a chance to make a comeback in the next two rounds, combining her speed and shrewd attacking tactics to easily register a unanimous decision.

“The Kazakhstani boxer (Urakbayeva) was a strong opponent so I thought the score of the fight could go up or down but after following the strategy of the coaches and BFI, I was able to play well,” Sakshi said after the win.

He said about the home support, “Also, the people who came to support us motivated me to win. I was playing against her for the first time so my coach and I made our strategy by watching 7-8 videos of her previous tournaments and analyzing them. As the tournament progresses, so is my confidence and I am focussing on winning the gold.”

Meanwhile, Indian boxer Preeti in the 54kg category lost to Thailand’s Jitpong Jutmas in her top-16 bout. Preeti gave a tough fight to the World Championship silver medalist but lost by a 3-4 decision.

Notably, six Indians including defending world champion Nikhat Zareen (50kg), Neetu Ghanghas (48kg), Manisha Moun (57kg), Jasmine Lamboria (60kg), Shashi Chopra (63kg) and Manju Bamboria (66kg) The boxers have already made it to the quarterfinals to be held on Tuesday.