Greater Noida, Jan 6 (PTI) Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain survived a stern test to edge past Saweety Boora via a split decision in the 75kg pre-quarterfinals of the National Boxing Championships here on Tuesday.
Competing in her first tournament since her second-round exit at the World Championships in September last, Lovlina was put under pressure as Saweety launched relentless attacks from the outset.
The Haryana boxer pressed forward, landing sharp and accurate punches that forced Lovlina into repeated clinches to stem the momentum.
As the bout progressed, Lovlina gradually found her rhythm, though the contest remained scrappy, with frequent holding and tumbles overshadowing clean exchanges. The closely fought contest was eventually ruled in Lovlina’s favour.
“I have returned after a long break, so yes, I expected today’s bout to be tough. My strategy was to stay calm and assess in the first round, then bring in the aggression, and that worked,” Lovlina said after the bout.
“This year is very important for me. After Paris, I have been on and off from boxing and I also started my academy,” she added.
Saweety smiled wryly and raised her hand signalling she had won the bout even though the result went against her.
“I was landing counting punches. According to me, the bout should have ended in the first round itself after giving Lovlina three counts. I thought I would get a 5-0 decision in my favour, but it didn’t happen,” she said.
India’s lone men’s World Championships silver medallist Amit Panghal was made to work hard before scraping through with a narrow 3-2 win over Haryana’s Priyanshu in the 55kg category.
World Cup Finals medallist Jadumani Singh, however, had a far easier outing, registering a referee-stopped contest (RSC) victory over R Parthiban of Tamil Nadu.
In other bouts, Haryana’s Pooja Rani (80kg) outclassed Anju of Chandigarh 5-0, while Nitu Ghanghas (51kg) and Sakshi Choudhary (54kg) both sealed comfortable RSC wins. PTI APA PDS PDS
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