New Delhi: Riding on impressive performances, star Indian pugilists Lovlina Borgohain, Nitu Ghanghas, Nikhat Zareen and Saweety Boora registered thumping victories to confirm four medals for the hosts at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships by advancing to the semi-finals at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here.
Continuing her rich form, Lovlina (75kg) added a third World Championships medal to her kitty with an emphatic 5-0 win against last year’s World Championships bronze medallist Rady Gramane of Mozambique. The 25 year old Indian played at the top of her game and displayed a spectacular combination of attack and defence to send her opponent packing by unanimous decision.
“The coaches had told me how to play today and it worked successfully as I was able to fight well. I feel comfortable in this weight category and I have adapted to it well with my performances in competitions going well. Today’s medal is very important for me but I don’t want to settle for bronze as it is going to be crucial for the upcoming Asian Games as well,” said Lovlina after the bout.
Lovlina will take to the ring for a high-profile clash against the 2018 World Champion and two-time Olympics medallist Li Qian of China in the semi-finals.
The 2022 Commonwealth Games champion Nitu (48kg) made it a hat trick of Referee Stops Contest (RSC) wins after securing a scintillating win against the two-time Worlds bronze medallist Madoka Wada of Japan with the RSC verdict in the second round of the bout. With an attacking approach from the word go, the 22 year old hardly had to break a sweat against the veteran Japenese and was in complete control of the bout.
The Indian will now take on the reigning Asian champion and last year’s World Championships silver medallist Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan in what will be a rematch of last year’s World Championships quarter finals.
Nikhat will face Rio Olympics bronze medallist Ingrit Valencia of Colombia in the semi-finals.
Having secured four medals, India have bettered their record from the previous World Championships edition where they had clinched three medals.
