New Delhi: Punjab’s Ekta Saroj, gold medalist at the seventh Nations Cup in Serbia in January, overcame an intense battle with School Games Champion Bharti in the 46kg class girls boxing quarterfinals in the Boxing Hall at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here on Tuesday.
Ekta Saroj won a split 3-2 verdict, a clear testament to how closely fought this bout was. Manipur’s Babyrojisana Chanu, who scored an emphatic win over Delhi’s Harshita, forced the referee to stop the contest in the first round again as she breezed past Assam’s Nanjita Boro.
Babyrojisana, also gold medalist at the Nation’s Cup, will face Punjab’s Sandeep Kour in the 52kg class semifinals.
“I missed out on competing in (the Valeria Demyanova Memorial International in) Ukraine in December last year. There was a mix-up with my visa. I went to Serbia in January and won. I wish to continue that streak,” Babyrojisana said.
Nation’s Cup bronze medalist Arshi Khanam (Rajasthan) was beaten by Haryana’s Minakshi in a repeat of the 50kg class bout at the 2017 Junior Women Boxing Nationals.
In the boys section, Maharashtra’s Naoba Singh put up a fine display against Punjab’s Akashdeep in the 50kg class but had to endure a nerve-wracking few seconds before he was finally declared winner unanimously.
Results: Quarterfinals:
Boys:
46kg class: Selay Souy (Jharkhand) beat Anil Singh (Maharashtra) on points; Mohammed Nazimuddin (Manipur) beat Aman (Haryana) on points; Sai Sarup (Maharashtra) beat Vinay Ved (Uttar Pradesh) on points; Kuldeep Sonkar (Uttar Pradesh) beat M Sameera Kumar (Andhra Pradesh) on points.
48kg class: Kuldeep Singh (Punjab) beat Hrithik Thakran (Haryana) on points (4-1); Anil (Maharashtra) beat Thounaojam Nanao Singh (Maharashtra) on points; Krishna Joda (Jharkhand) beat Rajesh Giri Goswami (Uttarakhand) on points; Sanket Gor (Maharashtra) beat Sidarth Mailk (Haryana) on points (3-2).
50kg class: Naoba Singh (Maharashtra) beat Akashdeep (Punjab) on points; Swapnil Shinde (Maharashtra) beat Lalit (Haryana) on points (3-2); Rinku Chahal (Delhi) beat Javed (Uttar Pradesh) on points; Shahrukh Khan (Uttar Pradesh) beat Sanjay Kumar Uttarakhand on points (4-1).
52kg class: Bhavesh Katimani (Maharashtra) beat Saidingliana (Mizoram) on points; Rohit Mor (Delhi) beat Kuljit Kumar (Punjab) on points; Basavraj Kattimani (Maharashtra) beat Yudhvir (Punjab) on points; Youraj (Haryana) beat Sourabh Chand (Uttarakhand) on points.
Girls:
46kg class: Simran (Chandigarh) beat Pavithra Raju (Tamil Nadu) on points (4-1); Sanjana (Delhi) beat Yaro Maying (Arunachal Pradesh) on points (4-1); Rajni (Haryana) beat Tirtha Deolekar on points; Ekta (Punjab) beat Bharti (Haryana) on points (3-2).
48kg class: Arshdeep (Chandigarh) beat Shashikala (Telangana), referee stopped contest in second round; Tinmila Doungal (Manipur) beat Sushila (Punjab) on points; Tannu (Haryana) beat Nivedita (Uttarakhand) on points (4-1)
50kg class: Puja Devi (Manipur) beat Sonia (Uttarakhand) on points (4-1); Amisha Kumari (Assam) beat Renu (Haryana) on points (3-2); Minakshi (Haryana) beat Arshi (Rajasthan) on points; Rinki (Uttar Pradesh) beat Suman Yadav (Goa) on points.
52kg class: Neha (Haryana) beat Bamang Yape (Arunachal Pradesh) on points; Poonam (Haryana) beat Priti Banekar (Maharashtra) on points; Babyrojisana Chanu (Manipur) beat Nanjita Baro (Assam), referee stopped contest in first round; Sandeep Kour (Punjab) w.o Iqbal Kour (Punjab).
54kg class: Rudrika Kundu (Haryana) beat A Lakshmi Priya Yadav (Andhra Pradesh) on points (4-1); Ssanathoi Heman (Manipur) beat Aarzoo (Delhi) on points.
