Women's National Boxing Championships: Railways' Sonia Lather, Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani kick off with impressive victories

Sonia Lather of Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) and S Kalaivani of Tamil Nadu started their campaign with a resounding win on the opening day of the 7th Elite Women's National Boxing Championship in Greater Noida on Friday.

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2016 World Championship silver medalists Sonia made an aggressive start against Madhya Pradesh's Mahi Lama in the 57kg preliminary round match and secured a comfortable 5-0 win.

On the other hand, last edition's silver medalist Kalaivani also proved too strong for Kerala's Milano Mj in the 48kg match. Her continuous attacks forced the referee to stop the fight in the third round and declare him the winner. Kalaivani will next face Haryana's Gitika, who had defeated Telangana's Meraj Begum by referee stoppage in the Round 1 (RSC) win.

Rinku (52kg) and Tannu (57kg) were the other boxers from Haryana who registered wins and entered the round of 16 of the Women's National Boxing Championships.

Meanwhile, 2021 Asian Youth Championships silver medalist Nivedita Karki (48kg) of Uttarakhand dominated Meghalaya's Veronica Sohshang to ensure a Referee Stopping the Contest (RSC) victory in Round 2.

Reigning world champion Saweety Boora (81kg), 2022 World Championships bronze medalist Manisha (60kg) and Tokyo Olympian Pooja Rani (75kg) will begin their campaign on the second day of the Women's National Boxing Championships organized by the Boxing Federation of India.

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The current Women's National Boxing Championships tournament has more than 300 boxers competing for top honors in 12 weight classes. The final will be played on 27 December. In the previous edition, the Railway Sports Promotion Board secured 10 medals and is eager to replicate their success in this tournament.