Sonia Lather, Shashi Chopra on course for clash in final of national boxing

Representational Picture

Former world champion Sarita Devi (AIP) and Asian boxing championship silver medallist Sonia Lather stormed into the quarterfinals of the the National Women's Boxing Championship here. Sonia (Railway Sports Promotion Board) dominated her bout against Preeti (Punjab) in the featherweight category, connecting repeatedly with her combination punches to win unanimously. Her 5-0 win put her on course for a potentially exciting final against Shashi Chopra. Shashi, who was crowned the World Youth Champion recently and is fighting her first elite championship, came through her round with equal ease. She toyed with Saloni Shah (Maharashtra), showing her usual aggression and speed before winning 4-1.

Sarita Devi too showed her class in the lightweight category, beating Muthulakshmi (Tamil Nadu) without much of an effort. In fact, she was so effective in the squared ring that the referee had to stop the contest in the first round itself. Earlier, entering the quarters was President's Cup bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) of Assam. Borgohain got the better of Maharashtra's Almas Shaikh in a unanimous 5 -0 verdict.

Railways Sports Promotion Board's boxers had a good day with Asian Championships quarterfinalist Shiksha (54kg) and former national champion Pavitra (60kg) entering the quarters. While Pavitra out-punched Bihar's Shivani Bharti, Shiksha defeated Rajasthan's Jyoti 5-0.

Results (Incomplete): Light Fly (45 - 48 KG): Monika (Har) bt Pallavi (HP) RSC Round 1; Rebecca Lalinmawii (Miz) bt Puja Ranpal 5:0; Archana Thapa (Utk) bt Fancy Devi (AIP) 4:1; K Bina Devi (Man) bt Kalaiwani S (TN) 5:0; Aarohi Birajdar (Mah) bt Muni Lya (Aru) 3:2; Varsha Choudhery (UP) bt G. Jyothi (AP) 3:2; Khushboo Tokas (Del) bt Rituz (Chd) 4:1; Rajesh Narwal (RSPB) bt Deepika Verma (MP) 5:0 Bantam (51- 54 KG) : Shiksha (RSPB) bt Jyoti (Raj) 5:0; Shavinder Kaur Sidhu (Pun) bt Soibam Rabika Devi (Aru) 5:0; Manisha (Har) bt Sonia (UP) 5:0; Jamuna Boro (Asm) bt Sunita Shahoo (Ori) RSC Round 1; Richa Sharma (WB) bt Nissy Laissy Thampy (Ker) 3:1; Kros Hmangaihsangi (Miz) bt Tejaswani Jivrag (Mah) 4:1; Meena Kumari (AIP) bt Geeta Thapa (DNH) RSC Round 2; Purnima Rajput (MP) bt Sabita Limboo (Skm) 5:0 Feather (54 - 57 KG) : Somia Lathar (RSPB) bt Preeti (Pun) 5:0; Pwilao Basumatary (RSPB) bt Aakansha (Bih) 5:0; Shashi Chopra (Har) bt Saloni Shah (Mah) 4:1 Light (57- 60 KG) : L Sarita Devi (AIP) bt Muthulakshmi (TN) RSC Round 1; Pariyanka Choudhery (Utk) bt Manju (Chd) 5:0; Bhagyashree Purohit (Mah) bt Pooja (Del) 5:0; Chaoba Devi (Man) bt Mamta Panda (Ori) 5:0; Pavitra (RSPB) bt Shivani Bharti (Bih) RSC Round 1; Aquillia Dupak (Aru) bt Sanjana Jain (MP) 5:0; Priyanka Thakur (Pun) bt Lalrinnungi (Miz) 5:0; Monika (Har) bt Aradhana Patel (UP) 5:0 Welter (64 - 69 KG) : Memthoi Devi (AIP) bt Aruna Geetha P (AP) RSC Round 1; Nupur (Har) bt Neema (Chd) 5:0; Lovlina
Borgohain (Asm) bt Almas Shaikh (Mah) RSC Round 1; Priyanka Tewatia (D&D) bt AK. Shri Divya (AP) RSC Round 2; Suman Kumari (Raj) bt Manisha Bhati (UP) RSC Round 1; Heena Tokas (Del) bt Poonam (Bih) 5:0; Gagandeep Kaur (Pun) bt Th. Aruna Devi (Man) 5:0; Pooja (RSPB) bt Joshmy Jose (Ker) RSC Light Heavy (75 - 81 KG) : Kalawanti (Har) bt Raksha Maurya (Del) RSC Round 1; Neha Jadhav (MP) bt Imroj Khan (UP) 5:0; Rekha (HP) bt Manimegalai. P (TN) RSC Round 1; Nirmala Rawat (AIP) bt Kalpana (Utk) 5:0; Salam Ibemcha Devi (Aru) bt Aarti Bhosle (Mah) 3:2; Parvaz Kaur (Pun) bt G. Geya Rupini (AP) 5:0; Riya Upadhyay (Guj) bt Shweta (Raj) 5:0; Bhagyabati Kachari (RSPB) bt Laxmi Padiya (Jha) 5:0.

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