Junior Women's National Boxing Championships: Eight Haryana boxers enter finals; Punjab ensure three silver medals

Rohtak: Haryana dominated the proceedings at the 3rd Junior Women’s National Boxing Championships with eight boxers progressing to the finals of the competition here on Thursday. Punjab also ensured three silver medals with Anjali, Tanishvir Sandhu and Khushi winning their respective bouts to enter the finals. Haryana’s Preeti Dahiya (60kg) managed to continue her Nation’s Cup form into the nationals as she overcame a tough challenge posed by Manipur’s Thongam Devi in a 3-2 bout. [caption id=“attachment_4750991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty[/caption] Besides Dahiya, Tannu (52kg), Khushi (63kg), Kalpana (46kg) and Neha (54kg) made it look easy with impressive wins of 5-0 against their respective opponents. Tamanna (48kg), Rinku (50kg) and Lashu Yadav (66kg) also stood victorious in their semi-final bouts. Tamanna was made to sweat for her win as she faced stiff resistance from Uttarakhand’s Nivedita but eventually won 3-2. For Punjab, Anjali (70kg), Tanishvir Sandhu (80kg) and Khushi (75kg) won their respective bouts and will fight for the coveted gold medal on Friday. Both Anjali and Khushi crushed their opponents in one-sided affairs that was reflected by the 5-0 scoreline, while Sandhu was declared winner after she launched her onslaught of attacking punches, forcing the referee to stop the contest in the 1st round. Chandigarh’s Divya Negi (60kg) also advanced to the finals with a convincing 4-1 win over Sandhya Shaik from Maharashtra. North East also shone in the semi-finals with four boxers making it to the finals. Tingmila Doungel (48kg), Shagolsem Bijeta Chandu (52kg), Huidrom Ambeshori Devi (57kg) and Oinam Pinky Chanu (46kg) all entered the finals with dominating performances that ended with a score of 50. Four boxers from Maharashtra – Sharvari Kalyankar (70kg), Sakshi Jangdale (75kg), Tanisha Patel (80kg) and Alfiya Khan (80+ kg) – also ensured berths in the finals. Goa’s Suman Yadav (50kg) and Aashreya Naik (63kg) too advanced to the finals. Kalpana (54kg) and Isha Gurjar (57kg) both from Rajasthan and Mahi Lamba (66kg) from Madhya Pradesh were other winners who will now play the finals on the 6th day of the championships. The six-day tournament, which will pick out the best of India’s rising female pugilists, has a total of 233 boxers participating from 27 states across 13 weight categories. The grand finale is scheduled on Friday.