Boxing: Sonia Chahal, Jyoti Gulia made to work hard for a quater-final berth in women’s nationals

Sonia Chahal, 2018 World Championships silver medallist in 57kg and youth world champion Jyoti Gulia (51kg) overcome stiff challenge from their respective opponents to reach the quarter-finals of the 4th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships at the Mundayad Indoor Stadium, Kannur, Kerala on Wednesday.

Chahal, who won the 57kg gold in 2016 and the bronze in 2017, endured some stiff resistance from All India Police’s Sandhyarani Devi but carved out a 4-1 victory.

“I started slow but was able to go on all-out attack in the third round. Overall, I am happy with my performance. Getting the gold here is important for me as it will give me the confidence to play the trials for the Olympic qualifiers. I hope to give my best and get the gold,” said Chahal after the bout.

Gulia, representing Railways had a much tougher time in the ring. India Open silver medallist Monika from Chandigarh forced the youth world champion to dig deep to register a 3-2 victory.

Cologne World Cup gold medallist Meenakumari Devi, who is also the defending champion in 54kg, did not need to exert much effort as she was declared the winner by RSC (Referee Stop Contest) in Round 3 against UP’s Kanika Chaudhary.

Pwilao Basumatary also made an impressive start to her gold medal quest in 64kg against Delhi’s Aarti Rawal. The Assam pugilist, representing Railways, emerged the winner by RSC in Round 3. In the 48kg category, Monika landed a flurry of punchesto record a commanding 5-0 win over Himachal Pradesh’s Jyotika Bisht.

Punjab and Chandigarh’s boxers put up a dazzling display as usual. Minakshi (48kg), Riya Rani (54kg), Manu Badhan (75kg) and Parminder Kaur (81kg) put Punjab on the winners’ column. Chandigarh’s Ritu progressed in 57kg via an RSC in Round 2 win over Jammu & Kashmir’s Neha Bhagat while Neema (64kg) emerged a 5-0 victor over Maharashtra’s Simran Mendon.

One of the biggest upsets of the day, however, was the exit of Chandigarh’s promising Nandini in 81kg. Nandini, who was a part of the 2019 Women’s World Boxing Championships squad, was knocked out 1-4 by Uttar Pradesh’s Shaily Singh.

Punjab and Chandigarh’s boxers put up a dazzling display as usual. Minakshi (48kg), Riya Rani (54kg), Manu Badhan (75kg) and Parminder Kaur (81kg) from Punjab won their respective bouts. Chandigarh’s Ritu progressed in 57kg via an RSC in Round 2 over Jammu & Kashmir’s Neha Bhagat while Neema (64kg) emerged a 5-0 victor over Maharashtra’s Simran Mendon.