Nagpur: Indian boxers Gaurav Solanki and Sonia Lather produced brilliant performances on the opening day to kick start their campaign on winning note at the Bosphorus Boxing tournament in Istanbul, Turkey.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Gaurav Solanki looked in complete control from the word go as he blanked opponent Arapov Aidos of Kazakhstan 5-0 to enter quarter-finals in the 57-kg men’s category.
While the World Championship bronze medallist Sonia Lather also dominated her opponent Rosorio Milogros from Argentina before completing 5-0 win in the women’s 57-kg. The 27-year-old Haryana pugilist Lather will now take on local favourite Surmeneli Tugcenaz in the Round-2 match on the second day.
Meanwhile, three other Indian pugilists suffered losses in their respective opening bouts. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Naman Tanwar went down 1-4 against Turkey’s Baki Yalcin Muhammed in men’s 91-kg while PL Prasad lost to Kazakhstan’s Abdikadyr Damir 0-5 in men’s 52-kg category. Prayag Chavhan (men’s 75-kg) and Pooja (women’s 75-kg) also fell short against Azerbaijan’s Sahsuvarli Karman and Russia’s Shamonova Anastasia respectively.
On the second day of the event, six more Indian boxers will be seen in action as they begin their campaign. World Championship bronze medallist Shiva Thapa (63-kg), Duryodhan Negi (69-kg), Brijesh Yadav (81-kg) and Kishan Sharma (+91kg) will compete in the men’s category while Nikhat Zareen (51-kg) and Parveen (60-kg) will be seen in women’s category.
A 13-member (eight men and five women) Indian boxing contingent participating in the on-going Bosphorus Boxing tournament, which is scheduled from March 15-21 and have strong competition in presence of top boxing nations like Russia, Argentina and Kazakhstan.
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