Women's National Boxing: Manju Rani, Sakshi storm into quarters

Greater Noida, Dec 25 (IANS) The 2019 World championship silver medalist Manju Rani (48kg) and two-time youth world champion Sakshi (57kg) maintained their impressive form by advancing to the quarterfinals on day four of the 7th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships at the GBU Indoor Stadium.

Representing the Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB), Manju Rani showcased her experience and skills against Guddi of Chandigarh as she secured a 5-0 victory. The pugilist is now set to face Sanjana of Delhi in the quarterfinals on Monday.

In another matchup, Sakshi of SSCB faced Telangana's Refa Mohid in a round-of-16 bout. Sakshi's aggressive approach and hard-hitting punches were too difficult to handle for Refa which resulted in a referee stopping the contest in Sakshi's favour in round one. Sakshi will go head-to-head against Aarti Mehra of Chandigarh in the quarterfinals.

In other significant bouts, the 2022 Senior national champion Shashi Chopra(63kg) went up against Aarti Dariyal of Uttarakhand. Shashi displayed her prowess as she secured the victory with a unanimous decision and moved into the last eight of the tournament. Shashi will face Sonu of All India Police for a spot in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, in the 66kg match, Ankushita Boro was up against Mizoram's Vanlalhriatpuii. Ankushita dominated the proceedings throughout and ultimately won the bout comfortably with a 5-0 score. She will face Anjali Tushir of RSPB in the quartfinals.

The ongoing prestigious tournament, organised by the Boxing Federation of India, has been witnessing the participation of more than 300 boxers competing in 12 categories. The finals will be played on Wednesday.