Indian pugilist Nandini has become the first from her country to secure a medal at the ongoing 73rd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament, currently taking place in Sofia, Bulgaria. In the +81kg quarter final stage, Nandini defeated Valeriya Axenova from Kazakhstan with a dominating victory to advance to the semis, assuring India its first medal in the tournament.
The 21-year-old, who hails from Mohali, unleashed a brutal offensive approach on Axenova, taking the helm of the match and finished it off in the third round with Referee Stopping Contest verdict. With her entry into the last four, the reigning National Champion Nandini will atleast bag a bronze. In the last edition of the Strandja Memorial, Deepak Kumar and Naveen Boora had secured two medals for India- a silver and a bronze, respectively.
In the semifinals, Nandini will take on Lazzat Kungeibayeva, another Kazakh who is a former world champion to aim for the final as well as securing a silver. Meanwhile, youth world champion Arundhati Choudhary and Parveen both secured their entries into the 70 kg and 63 kg quarter finals respectively. Arundhati defeated Melissa Gemini from Germany 3-0, while Parveen thrashed Kazakh boxer Aida Abikeyeva 5-0 to secure her last eight berth.
On the other hand, Meena Rani, Anjali Tushir, Saweety and Sachin Kumar, all suffered losses in their respective divisions. In the 60 kg category, Rani was defeated by Nune Asatrian of Russia 3-2. In the 66kg category, another Russian pugilist Saadat Dalgatova outperformed Anjali to a 5-0 victory. Saweety suffered a 0-5 loss to French boxer Davina Michel in the 75 kg category, while Sachin lost his 80 kg bout 1-4 to Germany’s Silvio Schierle.
Highlights:
- National Champion Nandini assured India its first medal at the ongoing 73rd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament, defeating Valeriya Axenova to advance to the +81kg semi finals
- Nandini, having secured at least a bronze, will face off against former world champion Lazzat Kungeibayeva in the semis
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