Reigning World Champion Nikhat Zareen and Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain continued their good run to advance to the final of the Women’s National Championships on Sunday.
Eight Railways boxers, including 2019 World Championship silver medalist Manju Rani (48 kg) and 2017 World Youth Champion Jyoti Gulia (52 kg), also made it to the top fight.
Nikhat (50kg), representing Telangana, comfortably won 5-0 against AIP’s Shvinder Kaur to set up a top clash with Anamika for the coveted yellow metal.
Assam’s Lovlina (75 kg) also had an easy time against Jigyasa Rajput of Madhya Pradesh as she dictated the terms during the fight and won by unanimous decision to advance to the finals.
She will face 2021 World Youth Champion Arundhati Choudhary from SSCB in the gold medal match. However, Defending Champions Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) dominated proceedings with eight of their boxers putting in a sensational performance in the tournament.
Manju showed great composure against Anjali Sharma of Madhya Pradesh in a one sided fight. She played from long range and convincingly won the fight 5-0 to make a final deal with Tamil Nadu’s S Kalaivani.
Jyoti started on the back foot against Uttar Pradesh’s Sonia and took some time to gauge her opponent’s strategy.
However, she recovered in the final two rounds, playing from close range and landing regular punches to secure a 4-1 verdict in her favour.
In the final, she will compete against SSCB’s Sakshi. The other 6 Railways boxers who advanced to the finals are Anupama (50kg), Shikhsa (54kg), Poonam (60kg), Shashi (63kg), Anupama (81kg) and Nupur (81+kg).
Last year’s World Championship bronze medalist Manisha (57 kg) and World Championship bronze medalist Simranjit Kaur (60 kg) also continued their run to make it to the final.
Manisha beat RSPB’s Sonia Lather 4-1 in a close fight and will fight Vinakshi of Himachal Pradesh in the final, while Simranjit defeated AIP’s Kros Hmangaihsangi in a comfortable 5-0 unanimous verdict. She will face RSPB’s Poonam in the top battle.
The ongoing prestigious event has witnessed the participation of 302 boxers, competing in 12 weight categories. The finals will be played on Monday.