New Delhi: 19-year-old Haryana state champion Neetu upstaged National Games bronze medallist A. Punyavathi of Andhra Pradesh in the light fly weight division at the 8th Federation Women’s Boxing Championship, which got underway at Guwahati in Assam on Friday.
After two rounds of intense action the scores were equal at 5-5. But with the beginning of the third round Neetu switched gears and with some explosive combinations the former Youth National Champion took a five point advantage. Eventually she went on to beat Punyavathi, last year’s bronze medal winner, with a score of 14:9. Neetu will now take on Sanasri Brahma in the semis.
Brahma, the Mizoram boxer also had to dig deep against local girl Anita Kahar. But the bronze medallist at the 10th Senior National Boxing Championship showed exceptional grit and determination to get back in the game after being down at one point in the bout and ultimately winning 16:11 on points. But it was S. Nengneihat Kom who stole the lime light in the fly weight division. The young Manipuri boxer plundered her way into the semi’s with an exceptional performance against Neha Tokas of Delhi. The 17-year-old, with her aggressive power play grabbed the crowd’s attention and went on to secure her place in the round of four with massive victory. She won 23:4 on points.
The fly weight division threw up a major surprise when rookie boxer, Renu from Haryana upset P Nirosha of Andhra Pradesh in another scintillating display. The 17-year-old made her more experienced counter park look like an amateur, with her hard hitting and accurate punching. Nirosha who won a bronze medal in the last edition of the Fed Cup had no answer to the offensive onslaught of Renu. In the end the Haryana girl powered through to the semi-finals with a 28:4 victory. She will take on Ritu Ranga of AIP in the next round. Bronze medal winner at the senior nationals, Dolly Singh of Mizoram also advanced to the semi-finals with an easy victory over Girja Umath of Madhya Pradesh.
Being held at SAI Sports Complex, Platen Bazaar in Guwahati from 17th to the 19th February 2012, the eighth edition of the tournament will witness All India Police, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh and hosts Assam pitted against each other for the coveted title.
The tournament provides ample opportunities and a platform for the young crop of boxers to hone their skills and raise the bar for future performances. Brig PK Muralidharan Raja, Secretary General of the Indian Boxing Federation believes domestic tournaments play vital role in the development of a boxer. He said, “National level tournaments help emerging boxers to establish a name for themselves in the domestic circuit and infuse the much required confidence in them to take on upcoming challenges”.
