Guwahati: The 2020 Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain , Parveen, who won the bronze at the 2022 World Championship, Alfiya Pathan and Minakshi who were making their competition debuts, all put on fierce performances on Wednesday in Amman, Jordan to earn their spots in the finals of the 2022 ASBC Asian Elite Boxing Championships.
In her semi-final match, South Korean Seong Suyeon faced off against Lovlina (75 kg). According to a press statement from the Boxing Federation of India, Lovlina successfully used her shrewd tactics and ideas to take advantage of her opponent from the start to secure a 5:0 victory by unanimous decision (BFI).
The Assamese-born fighter outclassed the South Korean throughout the three rounds by showcasing her tremendous strength and superior technical skills, denying the South Korean any chance to get back into the fight.
Lovlina, who has won two bronze medals at the Asian Championships is now assured of a silver in this competition marking her best-ever showing.
Alongside Lovlina, Alfiya Pathan (81+ kg), Parveen (63 kg) and Minakshi (52 kg) were similarly commanding in their individual semifinal victories as they won by unanimous decision by scores of 5:0.
The 2019 South Asian Games champion confirmed her position in the final with yet another strong and self-assured performance as she controlled her semi-final showdown against Uranbileg Shinetsetseg of Mongolia in a manner similar to her dominance in the previous contest.
Lazzat Kungeibayeva, the 2016 World Champion, was Alfiya’s opponent. This year, Alfiya has already beaten Kungeibayeva twice. In the 2022 Elorda Cup final, the 2021 Youth Boxing World Champion upset the Kazakh on her home court to win gold in her first senior international match.
On the other hand, Minakshi faced Mongolia’s Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg, who won the bronze medal at the 2021 Asian Championships, and the Rohtak-born boxer won with ease.
According to the press release, all four boxers will give it their all to bring gold to the nation as Lovlina will face Ruzmetova Sokhiba, who won silver at the 2021 Asian Championships, Alfiya will face Islam Husaili of Jordan, and Minakshi and Parveen will face Kinoshita Rinka and Kito Mai of Japan in the final.
Ankushita Boro (66 kg) and Preeti (57 kg) lost their semi-final matches to 2020 Olympic gold medalist Irie Sena of Japan and Khamidova Navbakhor of Uzbekistan, respectively, by scores of 1:4 and 0:5. Due to their outstanding performances throughout the competition, both boxers earned the bronze medal.
Later tonight, Saweety (81 kg) will square off against Jordan’s Lina Jaber in the semifinals.
India finished third among all competing nations in this year’s edition of the prestigious competition with a total of 12 medals.
Five Indian male boxers, including Mohammad Hussamuddin (57 kg), who has won two bronze medals at the Commonwealth Games, and six-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5 kg) will face off in the semi-finals on Thursday.
The other male fighters competing are Govind Kumar Sahani (48kg), Narender (92+ kg), and Sumit (75 kg).
267 boxers from 27 major boxing nations are taking part in the competition.
The tournament’s finals for the men’s and women’s categories will be held on Saturday and Friday, respectively.