Sonia, Pinki keep winning run alive, enter prequarterfinals
All five Indians have won their opening bouts without trouble
NEW DELHI: Bhiwani’s rise as India’s boxing powerhouse is well documented. From an obscure town in Haryana, it attracted worldwide fame in 2008 when three boxers made it to the Beijing Olympics quarter-finals. Vijender went on to win bronze and boxing was embraced in the country like never before.
Since then Bhiwani has occupied a special place in Indian boxing. On Saturday, the Bhiwani touch could not be missed at the World Championships here as Sonia defeated Toujani Doaa of Morocco in featherweight (57 kg) by a unanimous verdict to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
Sonia gave a good start and Pinki Jangra and Simranjeet Kaur made it a perfect day for the hosts, winning all three bouts.
In 51kg flyweight category, Pinki, who got a bye in the first round, defeated Anush Grigoryan of Armenia 4-1 to move into the pre -quarterfinals. Pinki will face Alice Lillie of England next.
Pinki, participating in her third world championships, used all her experience to counter an attacking opponent and then dominated the third round.
Playing the last bout of the day, Simranjeet (64kg) came out winner (4-1) in a thrilling contest against Amelia Moore of the US where both boxers went for broke. In the third round, Simranjeet still had enough gas left to land a few solid punches which proved decisive.
Sonia set the tone for the day. Hailing from Nimri village in Bhiwani, Sonia had her first boxing lessons there before she moved to Rohtak. The 21-year-old was selected in the squad over her namesake Sonia Lather, who won silver at the previous World Championships. The youngster has been giving a good account of herself this year and after India returned from the Asian Games — where Lather competed — without winning a single medal in the women’s category, the selectors decided to try out new faces. After the Asian Games, Sonia had defeated Lather in the Inter-railways Championship which made the selection committee firm up their mind on her.
Showing good reflexes and footwork, Sonia kept an attacking Toujani at bay and scored on swift counter-attacks. At one point, the bout seemed more like a wrestling contest as Toujani tried to pull Sonia down several times but the Indian kept her focus and composure.
Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Sonia landed punches with vengeance. But it was her defence that stood out as she was quick to evade Toujani’s punches. “That’s my game. I play from a distance and score on counter-attacks. She was attacking from the word go but I was patient. I was gauging her and waited for my opportunity. The coaches told me to stick to my game. I did just that,” said Sonia who was inspired to take up boxing after watching Kavita Chahal, the two-time world championships bronze medallist from her village Nimri.
Sonia, who began boxing in 2011, recently won bronze at the Ahmet Comert Tournament in Turkey.
Sonia will have a tough next round as she meets former world champion Stanimira Petrova of Bulgaria. Petrova defeated Rianna Rios of the US in a lopsided contest.
India coach Raffaele Bergamasco said, “Sonia doesn’t have a lot of power but has speed. We told her to focus. She is young and the excitement of playing at home can distract you.”