Boxers stay in the hunt

Indian boxers continued to shine at home as three of them entered the pre-quarter finals with contrasting wins at the Women’s World Championships here on Saturday.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nitu Ganghas (48kg) began her campaign with a RSC (referee stopped contest) win over Doyeon Kang of Korea, while Preeti (54kg) eked out a 4-3 split decision victory against Romania’s Lacramioara Perijoc.

Manju Bamboriya (66kg) defeated Cara Wharerau of New Zealand by a 5-0 unanimous verdict. The Indian dominated the bout completely.

Nitu, who lost in the quarter finals of the last edition, opened her campaign in the best possible way, winning the bout in the first round itself.

Kang got the first standing count. With Nitu continuing her onslaught, the Korean got her second standing count 20 seconds later with referee Luca Vadilonga of Italy ruling in the Indian’s favour.

Having won her opening bout by an RSC verdict, Preeti had to work hard for her second win in the tournament.

“I had prepared a lot for this bout, she had won a silver last time. I want to prove to myself that I’m less than no one,” said Preeti.

“In the last round, I changed my strategy. She was getting unbalanced.”

In the final three minutes, Preeti resorted to counter-attacks. The round was a draw with the bout going into a review. The evaluator and observer ruled in favour of the Indian.