Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain sealed a medal in her first bout in the 75kg category. She advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Valentina Khalzova in the quarterfinals of the ongoing Asian Boxing Championships 2022 in Amman, Jordan on Saturday.
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Lovlina needed just one win among five boxers to ensure at least a bronze medal. The 25-year-old advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-2 win over Khalzova in a split decision late Saturday night. The Assam boxer earlier won a bronze medal in the 69kg category at the Tokyo Olympics. She has now started playing in the 75kg category as the 69kg category is not included in the Paris Olympics.
Apart from Lovlina, Ankushita Boro (66kg) also made it to the semi-finals of the Asian Boxing Championships 2022. The 22-year-old boxer scored a 5-0 win over Japan's Tsubata Arsia in the last eight. For Pooja (70kg), however, the tournament came to an end as she lost 0-5 to Dariga Shakimova of Kazakhstan.
On the other hand, Parveen, competing in the women's 63kg, defeated Thailand's Panpatchara Somnuek 5-0 in the quarter-finals. Competition debutants Minakshi (women's 52kg) and Preeti (women's 57kg) secured semi-final berths by defeating the Philippines' Irish Magno and Turdibekova Sitora of Uzbekistan, respectively. Similar to Minakshi, Preeti also produced a spirited performance against Turdibekova Sitora to ensure a 5-0 victory.
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That is how five of the seven Indian boxers competing on Saturday. They won their quarter-final bouts and confirmed at least a bronze medal each.
In the men's competition, CWG 2022 bronze medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin (57kg) and five-time Asian medal winner Shiva Thapa (63.5kg), will be contesting in the quarter-finals on Sunday. Simranjit Kaur, the 2018 world championships bronze medallist is making her comeback. The Tokyo Olympian will be facing the Asian Games champion and two-time Asian champion Yeonji Oh of Korea.