Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain put up a dominating display to enter the quarterfinals of the 6th Elite Women's National Boxing Championships, registering a resounding victory in Bhopal on Friday.
Living up to the expectations, the Assam pugilist made light work of Puja Nayak from Odisha in the 75kg last-16 stage match. Lovlina's relentless attack and powerful punches proved too strong for her opponent as the reigning Asian champion was declared the winner by Referee Stops the Contest (RSC) verdict after just a few minutes into the first round of the bout.
Meanwhile, the 2016 World Championships silver medallist Sonia Lather of Railways Sports Promotion Board also made her way into the 57kg quarterfinals after she was given a walkover by Karnataka's Divyani.
Tamil Nadu's S Kalaivani was the other pugilist to secure the last-eight berth as she outperformed Swati Arya of Rajasthan by a 5-0 margin in a 48kg pre-quarterfinal contest.
Rajasthan's Arshi Khanam and Jhalak Tomar also produced dominating performances to make progress into the quarterfinals with identical 5-0 wins in their respective matches. While Khanam beat Uttar Pradesh's Ice Prajapati in the 54kg bout, Tomar (50kg) thrashed Assam's Kampi Boro comfortably.
For Haryana, Kalpana emerged victorious in the 50kg category by 5-0 against Maharashtra's Janhavi Waghmare.
Rajni Singh (48kg) and Rinky Kishore (50kg) were the boxers from Uttar Pradesh to progress into the quarter-finals. Rajni beat Punjab's Suvidha Bhagat 5-0 without breaking a sweat whereas Kishore claimed an RSC win against Kavitha Paravada of Andhra Pradesh.
The ongoing prestigious event has been witnessing the participation of 302 boxers, competing across 12 weight categories. The quarterfinals will be played on Saturday.
SC to hear on Monday Bengal plea against Calcutta HC order axing 25,753 school jobs
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday the plea filed by the West Bengal government against the Calcutta High Court's order cancelling 25,753 appointments in teaching and non-teaching posts made by the WBSSC in 2016.
CBI traces shop that sold bullets & cartridges seized from Sandeshkhali
The bills reportedly have Shahjahan’s name as the purchaser. The CBI is now trying to find out who went to the ammunition store to purchase the items.
Crew on seized cargo ship to be released soon, assures Iran Foreign Minister
The 16 remaining Indian crew members on board a cargo ship seized by Iran are set to be released soon, Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian assured his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel in a telephonic conversation on Saturday.
1,500 Sikhs join BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Punjab
In a significant development, 1,500 members from the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, along with Singh Sabha and other Sikh organisations, joined BJP on Saturday, just weeks ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and Punjab.
TMC writes to ECI complaining about CBI, NSG ops at Sandeshkhali during second phase of polls
The Trinamool Congress on Saturday wrote to the Election Commission of India (ECI) opposing the CBI and National Security Guard (NSG) raids at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas District on Friday and expressed apprehensions that the central agencies might have 'planted' weapons at the search site to 'defame it' when the second phase of Lok Sabha polls were underway.
2 CRPF personnel killed in attack by armed group in Manipur
Two Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including a Sub Inspector, were killed and two others have been injured after armed groups attacked a camp of security forces in Manipur’s Bishnupur district early on Saturday, police said.
Land subsidence leaves 350 people homeless in J&K’s Ramban District
Over 350 people in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K’s) Ramban District abandoned their homes on Saturday after destruction of the houses due to land subsidence.
Houthi leader vows to continue maritime attacks, calls Indian Ocean 'new theatre of confrontation'
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of Yemen's Houthi group, has vowed to continue its naval operations in the Red Sea, rejecting media reports suggesting a decrease in Houthi maritime attacks, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.