New Delhi: Heavyweight boxer Nupur Sheoran guaranteed India’s first medal at the World Boxing Championships with a win over Oltinoy Sotimboeva of Uzbekistan to reach the semifinals of the women’s +80kg category in Liverpool, England, on Wednesday.
26-year-old Nupur, who is the granddaughter of legendary boxer Hawa Singh, had qualified for the competition directly in the quarterfinals, where she triumphed in a scrappy contest. The Indian pugilist defeated the Uzbek 4-1 and assured herself and India of at least a bronze medal. The +80kg is a non-Olympic weight category with only 10 boxers participating in the ongoing competition.
Nupur rewarded for bright start
Nupur got off to a bright start, landing a sharp combination early on in the contest. The Uzbek hit back with a straight jab, but frequent clinching disrupted the flow of the match. Nupur, though, was relentless with her clean strikes and was rewarded with the win in the opening round on four of the five cards.
Sotimboeva, 20, bounced back in the second round and managed to sway two judges despite Nupur’s strong finish, filled with a flurry of shots.
The Uzbeki boxer was docked a point for excessive holding in the final round, but Nupur failed to capitalise on the advantage after a point was deducted for using the head soon after.
Both boxers swung without control in the closing stages, but Nupur managed to land some clean punches, which, in the end, proved decisive in her progress to the semifinals.
On Tuesday night, Jadumani Singh (48kg) and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) had advanced to the men’s quarterfinals with convincing wins. However, Jugnoo Ahlawat’s (85kg) campaign ended after a loss against Scotland’s Robert McNulty in the opening round.
Later on Wednesday night, plenty of Indians, including two-time champion Nikhat Zareen, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Jaismine Lamboria, Pooja Rani and Jamwal will be in action in their respective quarterfinal bouts.