Hosts Haryana dominated on the semi final day with eight wins at the third Junior Women’s National Boxing Championships in Rohtak on Thursday.
Punjab also ensured at least three silver medals with Anjali, Tanishvir Sandhu and Khushi winning their respective bouts.
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. Besides Dahiya, Tannu (52kg), Khushi (63kg), Kalpana (46kg) and Neha (54kg) made it look easy with impressive 5-0 wins 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 gold medal. Both Anjali and Khushi crushed their opponents in a one-sided affair that was reflected by the 5-0 scoreline while Sandhu was declared winner after the referee had to stop the contest in the first round.
Chandigarh’s Divya Negi (60kg) 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 through to the finals – Tingmila Doungel (48kg), Shagolsem Bijeta Chandu (52kg), Huidrom Ambeshori Devi (57kg) and Oinam Pinky Chanu (46kg), all with dominating performances that ended with a score of 5–0.
Four boxers from Maharashtra - Sharvari Kalyankar (70kg), Sakshi Jangdale (75kg), Tanisha Patel (80kg) and Alfiya Khan (80+ kg) - ensured berths in the finals of the nationals.
Goa’s Suman Yadav (50kg) and Aashreya Naik (63kg) also 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 sixth 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 final bouts are scheduled for Friday.