Anamika, Shiksha, Jaismine off to a winning start at 12th IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships

Anamika (50kg) showed her prowess and technical superiority to advance to the pre-quarterfinals as she defeated Romania’s Eugenia Anghel by a unanimous decision. Meanwhile, Shiksha (54kg) defeated Argentina’s Herrera Milagros Rosario 5-0 in the round-of-32 bout while Jaismine (60kg) defeated Thailand’s Porntip Buapa 4-1.

Anamika’s bout started on an aggressive note as both the boxers relentlessly attacked from the word go but Anamika displayed her sharp footwork and movement to land clear punches and evaded her opponent’s punches.

The boxer from Rohtak continued her relentless attack in the second round and didn’t let her opponent settle down. She dictated the terms throughout the whole bout and comfortably won by 5-0 to move to the next round.

Anamika will next face World Championships bronze medallist, Kristy Lee Harris of Australia, in the round-of-16 bout on Sunday.

The high voltage competition in presence of record 310 boxers from 73 countries across the world marks the 20th anniversary of the IBA Women’s World Championships. It will be played till May 20.

Two time Asian Champion Pooja Rani (81kg) and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (70kg) will play their respective round-of-16 bouts on Friday (May 13). Pooja, who will begin her World Championships campaign, will take on Hungary’s Timea Nagy while Lovlina will fight against Cindy Ngamba of Fair Chance Team. Lovlina had defeated former world champion Chen Nien-Chin in the first round on Monday.

Earlier on Wednesday, making progress into the second round, the 2019 Asian Championships bronze medallist Nikhat Zareen outpunched Mexico’s Herrera Alvarez in the 52kg category by unanimous decision, while Parveen also thrashed Mariia Bova of Ukraine by a similar margin.

Manisha (57kg), who was handed a bye in the opening round, also notched up an easy 5-0 win against Nepal’s Kala Thapa to make her way into the 57kg third round.

In the last edition of the tournament, held in Russia in 2019, Indian boxers secured one silver and three bronze medals.