World Championships bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and India Open champion Neeraj (57kg) won gold medals as the Indian boxers finished their campaign on a high with a rich haul of two gold, one silver and three bronze at the Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia on Saturday.
Gaurav Solanki (56kg) had to settle for the silver. Having had to taste a bitter 2-3 defeat at the hands of Assunta Canfora at the India Open final, Borgohain was better prepared this time to tackle the wily Italian.
The tall Assamese was on guard throughout the bout and never shied away from raining down a flurry of punches to grab a split-decision 3-2 win over Canfora.
After clinching the India Open silver and a bronze from the Strandja Cup, Borgohain efforts and dedication have been rewarded with her first international gold medal of the year.
Neeraj, who had caused a big upset in the semi-finals by stunning former world champion Alessia Mesiano 3-2, continued her impeccable form in the summit clash against Russia’s Malika Shakhidova. With two of the judges’ points being drawn at 28-28, the Strandja Cup bronze medallist went on to register a commanding 3-0 victory over the Russian.
While Borgohain and Neeraj dazzled in their respective finals, India failed to have a flawless day as Gaurav Solanki succumbed to a 0-5 defeat to Uzbekistan’s Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov. The Commonwealth Games gold medallist was unable to judge his opponent’s pace and power and could never recover from the early blows.
Reigning Asian Championships gold medallist Pooja Rani suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to home favourite Anna Anfinogenova in the middleweight (75kg) semi-finals and had to settle for bronze.
Govind Sahani (49Kg) and Jony (60Kg) also grabbed bronze medals after their semi-final losses. While Sahani lost to Russia’s Kurban Bayranbekov 1-4, Jony went down to Russia’s Natalya Shadrina by a similar scoreline.