Indian boxers continue to dominate in Women’s World Championship, three players enter pre-quarterfinals

Indian boxers continue to perform brilliantly in the Women’s World Championship. On Saturday, three boxers made it to the pre-quarterfinals by winning their respective bouts. Commonwealth Games gold medalist Neetu Gangas (48kg) defeated Korea’s Doyon Kang on RSC decision, while Preeti lost 4-4 to Romania’s Lacramioara Perijoc in the 54kg category. Defeated by 3.

Manju Bamboria (66kg) defeated New Zealand’s Sarah Verreau by 5. beat by 0. Neetu, who had lost in the quarterfinals in the previous edition, won the match in the first round itself this time. In the first minute, she used her ‘hook’ and ‘cross’ to perfection but could not land the points-scoring punches. Then both boxers started punching each other with both hands. Immediately, Korean boxer Kang got the first ‘standing count’.

Neetu again continued to dominate and Kang got a second ‘standing count’ after 20 seconds which resulted in the referee awarding the bout to the Indian boxer. However, Preeti, who won the RAC (referee stoppage) in the first round, struggled to win the second round. He said, ‘I had prepared for this match, she won the silver medal last time. I also wanted to prove that I am not less than anyone.

2022 Asian Championship bronze medalist Preeti said, ‘I was initially trying to understand her strategy. In the last round, I changed my strategy. She was aggressive and was losing her balance. Preeti took a 3-2 lead in the first round against her Romanian opponent. Then the boxer from Haryana started using her legs to punch the Romanian boxer. Significantly, she lost the second round 2-3. But in the last three minutes, Preeti counter-attacked. In this, both the boxers had equal points, due to which the match was decided by ‘review’. However, in the end the decision went in favor of the Indian boxer.