Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain and Commonwealth Games medal-winning duo of Mohammed Hussamuddin and Jasmine Lamboria assured themselves of a medal each at the 36th national games boxing competition after recording quarterfinal victories at the Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on October 9.
Even as the fancied names made progress, Gujarat’s Asifali Asgharli Syed and Ruchita Rajput lined up for a podium finish, giving the home crowd much cheer. The referee stopped Ruchita’s contest against Maharastra’s Sanika Sasane who fractured her ankle in the opening round.
Syed got the vociferous home crowd on its feet by recording a comfortable split decision 4-1 win against Jharkhand’s Jadov Deogam in the men’s 57kg category. He takes on world youth champion Sachin Siwach (Haryana), who cleared a hurdle against Chhattisgarh’s S Sahil in a bloodied quarterfinal. Sachin and Sahil both suffered cuts on their foreheads, forcing the referee to end the contest and award it in favour of the Haryana boxer.
World championship and multiple Asian medallists Shiva Thapa of Assam enjoyed a productive day in the office by recording a 5-0 win over Punjab’s Vikash.
In women’s 60kg division, world championship medallist Simranjit Kaur (Punjab) also made it to the last four stages with a comfortable 5-0 win over Mizoram’s Kroshmangaihsangi. Simranjit will be up against Assam’s Pwilao Basumatary, who registered a stunning win against Himachal Pradesh’s little-known Dimple Upadhyay.
Assam’s Lovlina preferred to spend some time in the ring before registering a commanding 5-0 unanimous verdict win in the women’s 75kg bout against KA Indraja (Kerala). The gap in class was evident even as Lovlina made full use of the opportunity to free her arms and eventually set up a clash with home boxer Ruchita Rajput.
Sweety Boora, a world championship medallist, set up the other 75kg semifinal with Himachal Pradesh’s Shreetima Thakur after getting the better of Delhi’s Shalakha Singh by a 5-0 verdict.
