New Delhi [India], July 21 : Eleven Haryana boxers, led by reigning world champion Gitika, progressed into the semi-finals of the Fourth Youth Men's and Women's National Championships at Delhi Public School (DPS) in Sonipat.
Gitika (48kg) continued her impressive run in the tournament as she showed attacking prowess and maturity on her way to a 5-0 win over Delhi's Sanjana in the last-8 bout. Gitika will now square off against Ragini Upadhyay of Uttar Pradesh in the semi-final on Thursday.
In the light flyweight 50 kg quarter-finals, Haryana's Tamanna started the proceedings against Chandigarh's Kajal with a flurry of punches and dominated throughout before the referee stopped the contest (RSC) and declared former as the winner in the beginning of the second round of the bout.
The remaining nine boxers from Haryana who made it to the semi-final are Neeru (52kg), Neha (54kg), Preeti (57kg), Preeti Dahiya (60kg), Khushi (63kg), Lashu Yadav (70kg), Saneha (75kg), Nidhi (81kg) and Deepika (+81kg).
Chandigarh's Neha (48kg) and Punjab's Suvidha (50kg) also cruised into the semi-finals with victories against West Bengal's Monika Mallick and Tamil Nadu's Dilsad Begum respectively.
Meanwhile, in the men's category, the boxers from Services Sports Control Board, led by 2021 Youth World Championship bronze medallist Bishwamitra Chongtham (51kg) dominated the proceedings as three of them sailed into the semi-finals. Other two SSCB Boxers were Vishwanath Suresh and Victor Singh (54kg).
The semi-final bouts of both men and women categories will be played on Thursday.
With the presence of 479 boxers from across the country, the fourth edition of the Youth Men's and Women's National championships is the first domestic boxing event taking place in India after more than a year due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The ongoing youth event will be followed by the third edition of the Junior Boys National Championships and the fourth edition of Junior Girls National Championships which are scheduled from July 26 to 31.
The Youth and Junior National Championships provide a good opportunity for boxers to showcase their skills as the top performers will be selected for the 2021 ASBC Youth & Junior Boxing Championships which are slated to take place in Dubai from August 17-31.