NEW DELHI: Five female boxers, lead by Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and World Championship medalist Parveen, advanced to the finals of the Asian Elite Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan in 2022, while five male boxers will enter the ring on Thursday seeking to follow in their footsteps.
On Wednesday, two more boxers lost in the semifinals to formidable opponents while Minakshi (52 kg), Parveen (63 kg), Lovlina (75 kg), Saweety (81 kg), and Alfiya (+81 kg) advanced to the championship round in their respective weight categories.
Ankushita Boro (66 kg) and Preeti (57 kg) were eliminated from the match after losing to 2020 Olympics gold medalist Irie Sena of Japan and Khamidova Navbakhor of Uzbekistan, respectively, by scores of 1-4 and 0-5. Due to their outstanding performance in the competition, both boxers won the bronze medal.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced on Thursday that Saweety, the last Indian female boxer to get to the final, defeated Jordan's Lina Jaber late on Wednesday night when the match was interrupted by the referee (Rsc) in the second round of their 81kg semifinal match.
In her quarterfinal match, South Korean Seong Suyeon faced off against Lovlina (75 kg). Lovlina won the match 5-0 by unanimous decision by using cunning approaches and strategies from the outset to take advantage of her opponent. Alfiya Pathan (81+ kg), Parveen (63 kg), and Minakshi (52 kg) all won their respective semifinal matches with decisive 5:0 decisions after dominating their opponents.
The 2019 South Asian Games champion confirmed her position in the final with yet another strong and self-assured performance as she controlled her semifinal fight against Uranbileg Shinetsetseg of Mongolia in a manner reminiscent of her dominance in the previous contest.
Lazzat Kungeibayeva, the 2016 World Champion, was Alfiya's opponent. This year, Alfiya has already beaten Kungeibayeva twice. In the 2022 Elorda Cup final, the 2021 Youth Boxing World Champion upset the Kazakh on her home court to win gold in her first senior international match.
On the other hand, Minakshi faced Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg, bronze medalist at the 2021 Asian Championships, and the Rohtak-born boxer won easily with little effort.
India finished third among all competing nations in this year's edition of the prestigious competition with a total of 12 medals.
Five Indian men's boxers will compete in the semifinals on Thursday, including Mohammad Hussamuddin (57 kg), a two-time Commonwealth bronze medalist, and six-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg).
The other male fighters competing are Govind Kumar Sahani, Narender (92+ kg), and Sumit (75 kg) (48kg). The tournament's finals, in which 267 boxers from 27 different nations are competing, will be held on Friday for the women's division and on Saturday for the men's division.
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