The opening day of the Boxing World Cup (Stage 2) in China turned out to be an up-and-down affair for India's pugilists. Deepak and Poonam impressed in their respective weight categories to push into the next round, but seven of their teammates were shown the exit door after losing their bouts.
Comfortable Wins for Poonam and Deepak
In the women's 54 kg division, Poonam faced Aziza Yokubova of Uzbekistan and completely dominated the contest, sealing a clear 5-0 verdict. Deepak matched that performance in the men's 70 kg category, brushing aside Turkmenistan's Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov by an identical 5-0 scoreline to punch his ticket to the next stage. Both unanimous decisions underlined how thoroughly the two Indians controlled their fights.
Dreams Cut Short in the Preliminaries
The round of 16 brought several setbacks for India. In the men's 50 kg category, Rishi Singh went down to Azerbaijan's Subhan Mamedov. In the women's 75 kg division, Sanamacha Chanu Thokchom was edged out by Canada's Tammara Thibeault, while in the men's 90 kg bracket Sawan Gill's campaign ended with a defeat against Norway's Omar Sheikha.
There was a tight tussle in the 60 kg category between Anmol and Saleem Ellis Bey of the United States, but Anmol fell short by a narrow 2-3 margin. Meanwhile, Harsh Chaudhary's 90 kg bout against Sweden's Elvin Belejica had to be halted in the third round because of an injury, with the result recorded as a loss for Harsh by RSC (I).
Quarterfinal Heartbreaks
The last-eight contests offered little relief either. In the women's 80 kg category, Naina ran into hosts China's Shaomeng Wang and suffered a heavy 0-5 defeat. In the women's 90+ kg division, Alfiya Tarannum Akbar Khan Pathan could not get past Poland's Elzbieta Wojcik.
With these results, India's hopes in the tournament now rest on Deepak and Poonam, who will look to carry the country's challenge forward in the rounds to come.
