PANAJI: Asian Championship bronze-medalist Jaismine and defending champion Assam’s Pwilao Basumatary headlined the 60kg category on Day 2 of the 5th Elite Women’s National Boxing Championships at St Joseph’s International School in Hisar, Haryana on Friday.
Representing Haryana, Jaismine comfortably beat Chhattisgarh’s Rajbala by the unanimous 5-0 verdict in the opening round, while Basumatary showcased a ruthless display of power boxing and nimble-footedness against Karnataka’s Theertha Lakshmi.
While Jaismine was time and again catching her opponent on the wrong foot, Basumatary went on the attack from the word go, hitting Theertha Lakshmi with powerful jabs before the referee stopped play and declared the former as winner.
Forty-nine bouts were contested on Day 2 of the prestigious event which has been witnessing participation of more than 320 pugilists from across the country. The tournament is being hosted by the Boxing Federation of India in association with the Haryana Boxing Sangh.
Gujarat’s Hardeek Kaur Gill (60kg) also put up a flawless display against Ladakh’s Rigzen Tsomo before winning the contest 5-0.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra pugilists continued their good show in the ongoing championship as Laxmee Mehra outpunched Sikkim’s Sarmila Rai to win her 63kg opening round bout by Referee Stopping the Contest (RSC).
Chandigarh’s Neema was another pugilist who was in top form in the 63kg category, beating Neha Kasnyal of Uttarakhand 4-1.
Shruti Yadav of Madhya Pradesh gave a tactical masterclass against Chandigarh’s Anju in the opening round of 66kg category, winning by a comfortable margin of 5-0. Anju had no answer to Yadav’s jabs and shots aimed at the head, as Day 2 ended on an electrifying note.
The gold and silver medalists will earn themselves a place in the national coaching camp. However, 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.
