Displaying power-packed performances, the Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria and Shashi Chopra registered dominating wins to progress to the next round of the Mahindra IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here on Friday.
Young pugilist Jaismine kicked off her campaign with a Referee Stopping the Contests (RSC) victory against Nyambega Beatrice Ambros of Tanzania in the 60kg Round of 32 bout. The 21-year-old boxer from Haryana started out on the front foot with her attacking intent and landed a flurry of punches to have her opponent on the ropes within just twelve seconds before she was declared the winner in the first round.
Following one of the quickest victories of the tournament, Jaismine will face Samadova Mijgona of Tajikistan in the next round.
Similar to Jaismine, Shashi also put up a dominating performance as she outpunched Mwangi Teresiah of Kenya 5-0 in the 63kg category. Being at her attacking best, the Indian proved to be too strong for her opponent as she utilized her deft jabs and stern defence to win the bout comfortably. She will take on the 2022 Asian Championships silver medallist Kito Mai of Japan in the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, in the 70kg category, Shruti Yadav went down fighting 0-5 against Zhou Pan of China.
In what was a huge upset of the day, Wen Lu Yang of China vanquished the 2016 World Champion Alessia Mesiano of Italy, who also won bronze in 2014 and 2022 edition, with a monumental victory by unanimous decision in the 60kg category. The Chinese pugilist, who recently won the silver medal at the 74th Strandja Memorial, showcased immense confidence and smart technique to overpower her opponent and advance to the Round of 16.
On the other hand, the 2018 Asian Games champion Oh Yeonji (60kg) of South Korea and five-time World Championships medallist Elif Guneri (75kg) of Turkey recorded contrasting victories in their respective bouts. While the South Korean comfortably outclassed Esmeralda Falcon of Mexico with a 5:0 win, the Turkish pugilist had to grind hard to defeat Baison Manikon of Thailand by 5:2 after the bout was reviewed.
Two Indian pugilists Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Manju Bamboriya (66kg) will begin their campaign on Saturday. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Beatriz Soares of Brazil and last year’s World Championships silver medallist Imane Khelif of Algeria will also be in action in the 66kg category.
The ongoing event is witnessing the participation of 324 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 65 countries fighting for the titles in the 12 weight categories. The tournament has a massive prize pool of Rs 20 crore.