Guwahati: Ankushita Boro once again delighted the home fans by sealing a medal for herself at the Youth Women’s World Championship in boxing after defeating Italy’s Rebecca Nicoli in a closely contested quarter-final on Wednesday.
It was Jyoti who got the ball rolling for India in the flyweight 51-kg category, while the impressive Shashi Chopra picked up her third consecutive win, via a unanimous decision. Chopra also guaranteed herself of a medal after moving to the semi-finals.
In the evening session, Nitu (48 kg) and Sakshi (54 kg) were also in fine form in their respective bouts, winning them by unanimous decisions to become the sixth and the seventh Indians to earn a place in the last-four.
The highly-rated Niharika Gonella, though, became the second Indian to be eliminated from the tournament after being defeated via a unanimous decision by England’s Georgia O’Connor in the 75-kg category. Astha Pahwa (69 kg) too exited despite dominating much of her contest against Turkey’s Canser Oltu. The Indian welterweight even forged a standing count. The bruising slugfest, though, ended with Pahwa leaving the runner stunned.
High expectations
Expectations had gathered plenty of steam going into the fourth day, especially after the Indian contingent won each of their five bouts on Tuesday. Jyoti once again showed tremendous grit and ring awareness in what was a fairly even bout. Nicoli earned good momentum in the opening round but, once again, a tactical switch in the last two rounds turned the contest around for the Indian.
Nicoli was cautioned in the second round by the referee and Jyoti, with her unorthodox style, showed neat footwork to edge the Italian with her counter-punching. The final round saw the Indian land a couple of hooks and thereby turn the match in favour to win 3-2 by split decision.
“Coach told me to keep moving around the ring and use the jab and 1-2 combo more often,” said Jyoti. “And when she began holding me in the second and third, he told me do infighting, release a burst of punches to her stomach and pull out, which is exactly what I did and it worked.”
Chopra was yet again a dominant presence in the ring and stuck to her strategy of using straight-punches in short bursts to catch her opponent, Kazakhstan’s Sandugash Abilkhan, off guard. In the second round, the referee called for a standing eight count after Shashi landed a ferocious hook. Just like on Tuesday, Shashi’s sidesteps and guard were on point as she saw out a win by unanimous decision despite Abilkhan coming into the bout as the favourite.
“I had beaten her in Istanbul, so I knew her style and strategy,” Shashi said. “I ensured I kept my guard up in the second and third rounds to avoid giving away points and implemented the coach’s strategy of attack and defence in the second round before stepping on the gas in the final round. I knew I scored enough points to win the bout hands down.”
Meanwhile Boro once again showed why she could go all the way. Buoyed by home support, which included her family, the 17-year-old waited for Nicoli to open her guard, which played into the former’s hands. It was the Italian who earned early momentum in the bout, and was the better boxer in the first round. The brave Boro, who knew she had to have a good three minutes to gain a foothold, was on the offensive in the second and landed several crucial jabs with her left. The Assamese boxer shed tears of joy as she celebrated her win.
Sakshi pummelled China’s Lu Xia to storm into the semis. The Indian dominated in all three rounds, and forged eight-counts twice in the first round and once in the second to stroll to a win.