India Open Boxing | All seven Indian pugilists advance to next round
Indian boxers made the full use of home advantage in the India Boxing Open in Assam as all the seven pugilists participating in the opening day made it to the next round. While Sachin Siwach was the only male in the 52kg tournament, the rest of the six women also won their bouts comprehensively.
Siwach was up against Argentina’s Ramon Nicanor Quiroga on Monday and the GeeBee Boxing tournament’s bronze medalist had an easy path. Using his height to full advantage, the former World Youth Champion dominated the bout right from the start to win it 5-0 by a unanimous decision.
Siwach would be facing former world championship bronze medalist Rogen Ladon in the quarterfinals next. “It was a narrow defeat last time. But now I’ve now improved my speed and skill and I will look forward to settle scores this time,” said Siwach, reported PTI.
Siwach is featuring in a draw that has the likes Commonwealth Games gold medalist Gaurav Solanki in the bottom half where he is seeded, while Asian Games gold medalist Amit Panghal is sitting on the top half. However, Siwach looked unnerved by the tough road ahead.
“When it comes to Indians we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s a tough road ahead as flyweight is highly competitive. But as of now my focus is on the next round against the Filipino boxer,” the 20-year-old from Haryana added.
Apart from Siwach, who was the solo Indian from the men’s section, the women’s category had six more spots to catch and all the Indian pugilists did it. Former world championship silver medalist Sonia Lather defeated Chandra Kala Thapa 5-0 to reach the quarterfinals in the 57kg while Preeti Beniwal overcame Nepalese opponent Sangita Sunar 5-0 in the 60kg.
Debutant Shashi Chopra, who participated in the 60kg, had it easy against Bhutan’s Tandin Choden 5-0, as Manisha Maun beat Nesthy Petecio of Philippines 4-1 in the 57kg category. Apart from them, Jyoti Gulia and Anamika also advanced into the quarterfinals with easy wins.
