Sports News | Asian Boxing C'ships: Minakshi, Preeti Storm into Semis; Assure India of Medals

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Indian pugilists Minakshi and Preeti registered contrasting wins to secure semifinal berths and assure themselves of medals in their maiden appearance at the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.

While Minakshi (52kg) defeated four-time Southeast Asian Games medallist Philippines' Irish Magno 4-1 in the quarterfinal, Preeti (57kg) produced a spirited performance against Turdibekova Sitora of Uzbekistan to win her last eight bout 5-0.

Also Read | Para-Badminton World Championship 2022: Ace Shuttler Pramod Bhagat Advances to Singles, Doubles Finals.

Minakshi started out strongly, landing a flurry of punches and asserting her confidence from the beginning.

Being sharp and nimble footed, she maintained her consistency throughout the game and won the bout 4:1.

Also Read | ICC T20 World Cup 2022: England Beat Sri Lanka to Book Semifinal Spot; Knock Australia Out of the Fray.

Similarly, Preeti, the 2021 Asian Youth Boxing champion, sustained her balance of strong offence and deft defence till the end to ensure a unanimous victory.

Minakshi will face Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg while Preeti will take on Japan's Irie Sena in the semi finals on November 9.

In the other quarterfinal, Sakshi (54kg) suffered a 0-5 defeat at the hands of the Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Hsiao-Wen Huang of Chinese Taipei.

Late on Friday night, Ananta Chopade (54kg) booked his place in his quarters with a commanding 5-0 win over Japan's Tanaka Shogo while Etash Khan (60kg) suffered a 2-3 defeat in a hard-fought clash against Thailand's Khunatip Pidnuch.

Later on Saturday, World Championships bronze medallist Parveen (63kg) and Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) will kick off their campaign against Dariga Shakimova and Valentina Khalzova respectively.

Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and 5-time Asian medalist Shiva Thapa (63.5kg) will be contesting in the quarter finals along with five other Indian boxers on Sunday.

The other pugilists in action will be Govind Sahani (48kg) Ananta Chopade (54kg), Amit Kumar (67kg), Monika (48kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg).

Simranjit, the 2018 World Championship bronze medalist, is making her comeback and will be facing the Asian Games gold medalist Yeonji Oh of Korea.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)