The 5th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships got off to a blistering start, with Delhi’s Hemlata outmanoeuvring her opponent PS Mantasaha Kumari from Assam 4-0 in the 50kg category.
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The 5th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships got off to a blistering start on Thursday, with Delhi’s Hemlata outmanoeuvring her opponent PS Mantasaha Kumari from Assam 4-0 in the 50kg category. Nimble-footed Hemlata gave Mantasaha no chance whatsoever as she connected her jabs to precision and won the contest on a unanimous basis at St Joseph’s International School in Hisar, Haryana. Another highlight of the Day 1 was the flawless performance from Maharashtra’s Aarya Kulkarni, who outclassed Yape Bamang of Arunachal Pradesh 5-0. It was a display of total domination from Kulkarni, evident from round one, and she did not let up till the final round to register an easy win.
The tournament is being hosted in association with the Haryana Boxing Sangh, and has been witnessing the participation of more than 320 pugilists from 36 States/Union Territories/Boards from across the country. Dominating the 50kg category on Day One were Goa’s Priti Chawan, who beat Monika Pandey of West Bengal by the referee stopping the contest (RSC) verdict, and Punjab’s Komal, who blanked Sonia Gauni of Uttarakhand 5-0.
It was in the 52kg category that witnessed an edge-of-the-seat contest between Madhya Pradesh’s Anjali Sharma and Tamil Nadu’s V Vinodhini. Both boxers stood toe-to-toe throughout the fight, with Anjali just edging out Vinodhini 3-2 in the final verdict.
After the resumption of the domestic circuit post-Covid-19 pandemic, this is the sixth national championship that the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has been organising following the successful execution of the junior, youth, and men’s national events. The gold and silver medallists of the ongoing championships will earn themselves a place in the national coaching camp. The remaining two names for the camp in each category will be selected on the basis of performances in the selection trials, which will take place right after the Nationals.
The 2018 World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur and reigning Asian champion Pooja Rani are among the top boxers to fight it out for the title. Apart from Punjab’s Simranjit (60kg) and Pooja (81kg) of Haryana, the 2019 World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Jamuna Boro (54kg), defending champion Pwilao Basumatary (60kg) and Asian Championships bronze medallist Jaismine (60kg) will be seen presenting strong challenges. Reigning youth world champions Manipur’s Babyrojisana Naorem (54kg), Sanamacha Thokchom (75kg) and Rajasthan’s Arundhati Choudhary (70kg) will also be seen in action in the tournament, which will be played till October 27.
The opening ceremony held on Thursday was attended by Deputy Commissioner, Hisar Dr Priyanka Soni as chief guest alongside BFI General Secretary Hemanta Kumar Kalita and Treasurer Digvijay Singh. The championships are being played as per the AIBA’s 12 weight divisions—48kg, 50kg, 52kg, 54kg, 57kg, 60kg, 63kg, 66kg, 70kg, 75kg, 81kg and +81kg.
In the last edition of the championships held in Kannur, Kerala in 2019, RSPB had clinched the team championship title with six gold medals while Haryana finished as the runners up. It will be interesting to see the winner in this edition.
