Bronze medallist of 2018 World Championships, Lovlina Borgohain (69 kg), dominated her first bout and Indonesia President’s Cup gold medallist Jamuna Boro (54 kg) caused a big upset to enter the quarter-finals at the AIBA Women’s World Championships at Ulan-Ude, Russia on Wednesday.
With Borgohain and Boro’s win, five Indian pugilists have now entered the last-eight stage as they joined Mary Kom (51 kg), Manju Rani (48 kg) and Kavita (81+ kg) in the quarters.
Taking the ring first, Boro blanked fifth-seeded Algerian boxer, Ouidad Sfouh 5-0. The 22-year-old boxer, who is playing her first senior World Championships, started slowly and gradually gained momentum. The Assam pugilist became more aggressive in the second round as she landed some clear blows on her opponent. She also evaded the African Games gold medallists’ punches with quick footwork to complete the commanding victory.
Playing her first match of the Championships, Boro’s state-mate, Lovlina Borgohain made a resounding return to the last-eight as she crushed her Moroccan opponent, Oumayma Bel Ahbib 5-0. The third-seeded Indian, after getting a first-round bye, used her height to her advantage as she blew away Bel Ahbib.
In her quest for her second consecutive medal from this prestigious tournament, Borgohain will face sixth seed Karolina Koszewska of Poland while the India Open gold medallist Boro will take on Germany’s Ursula Gottlob on Thursday. Also in action will be six-time world champion Mary Kom who will hunt her eighth World Championships medal against Lorena Victoria Valencia of Colombia.
In 48kg, Strandja Cup silver medallist and sixth seed Manju Rani has a tough quarter-final showdown with top seed Kim Hyang of North Korea while Kavita Chahal will kickstart her campaign against Belarus’s Katsiaryna Kavaleva.
A total of four Indian boxers have been seeded this time while five got first-round byes at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2019 which will continue till October 13.
