Trisha Ghosal in Hangzhou
India had a busy day at the Hangzhou Gymnasium on Tuesday. Four boxers were all set for their bouts, with medals at stake.
The first fight for India was Preeti Pawar, with the young boxer taking on China’s Yuan Chang in the Women’s 50-54kg semi-final. Preeti fought bravely but lost on points to the Chinese boxer and had to settle for a bronze. After her bout, when I caught up with her for a chat, Preeti wasn’t happy with the result, though she was pleased at having added to India’s medal tally. “It’s a good thing that I have qualified for the Olympics this early because this gives me time to prepare for it,” said Preeti, who won the quota for Paris by virtue of making the semi-finals. “Now, I will shift my entire focus towards Olympics.”
The second bout of the day for India was Lovlina Borgohain taking on Thailand’s Baison Maneekon in the semi-final of the Women’s 66-75 kg category. From the beginning, Lovlina started attacking and ensured that she won the first round. In the second, Lovlina fell a little behind and the round went to Maneekon. With the Olympic quota as well as a place in the final at stake, Lovlina was under a lot of pressure in the final round. But she didn’t let it get to her, sticking to her game plan of relentless jabs and quick combinations to make and sure that she sealed a final berth, and also a place in the Paris contingent.
The third bout of the day for India was Sachin Siwach taking on China’s Lyu Ping in the quarter finals of the Men’s 51-57kg division. With the Olympic quota at stake, Sachin came out with intent against his Chinese opponent who had the full support of a packed home crowd. The first round went to Lyu, but a few seconds into the third round, one of Sachin’s punches resulted in a cut on Lyu’s face. He had to stop fighting, while the ringside doctor checked him. Most assumed that Sachin had won the bout, but strangely, Lyu was declared the winner, 4-1 on points. It was a mystifying decision, with no clarity on why the Chinese boxer was declared the winner. At the end of the bout, Sachin declared that his first aim would be to qualify for the Olympics, for which there are two qualifiers still left. He also said that every bout gave him something to learn from.
The last fight of the day for India was Narender Berwal facing Kazakhstan’s Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the semi-finals of Men’s 92+ kg category. Narender looked confused in the ring. Most of the time, his feet movement wasn’t great, and he seemed confused as to whether to attack or to wait for his opponent to seize the initiative. That cost him the bout, a unanimous 5-0 decision that meant he had to settle for the bronze.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad day at all for the Indian contingent in the boxing ring, with two bronze medals and at least a silver guaranteed by Lovlina making the final. India’s medal tally at the end of Tuesday’s programme was 69, one less than the last Asian Games. With Parveen Hooda set to take on Chinese Taipei’s Yu Ting Lin in the semi-finals of the Women’s 54-57kg and Lovlina contesting the 66-75kg final, India will have yet another busy day in the Hangzhou Gymnasium on Wednesday.