IMAGE: Jaismine Lamboria won her opening bout. Photograph: Twitter/BFI
Commonwealth Games medallist Jaismine Lamboria packed a powerful punch to win her opening bout against Nyambega Beatrice Ambros of Tanzania via a RSC verdict at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi on Friday.
Shashi Chopra (63kg) continued the winning momentum as she notched a facile 5-0 win over Mwangi Teresiah of Kenya.
India, however, suffered its first casualty as Shruti Yadav (70kg), who had replaced Sanamacha Chanu, succumbed to a 0-5 defeat at the hands of China’s Zhou Pan.
Competing in the 60kg event, Jaismine, who won the bronze in the 2022 Birmingham CWG, needed less than 90 seconds to end the bout.
The 21-year-old boxer from Haryana was at her a belligerent best as she unleashed a series of jabs on her opponent. The referee gave the Tanzanian boxer two standing counts before he was forced to stop the contest.
It was the third RSC win by an Indian boxer in the tournament.
On the opening day, reigning champion Nikhat Zareen and Preeti had won after the referee stopped their respective bouts.
Jaismine will face Samadova Mijgona of Tajikistan in the next round.
Shashi too dominated her bout. The Indian proved to be too strong for her opponent as she utilised her deft jabs and stern defence to win the bout comfortably.
She will take on the 2022 Asian Championships silver medallist Kito Mai of Japan in the Round of 16.
“This is my comeback event, I had not played the last nationals also due to injury. But this time in nationals I won gold. This is my first international competition in 63kg,” Shashi said after her bout.
In the final Indian bout of the day, Shruti, who was disadvantaged because of her height, threw a lot of punches but was unable to connect. She struggled with her balance and her footwork looked sluggish. The Chinese boxer, on the other hand, utilised her long reach as she did not let Shruti come near and attack.
Two Indian pugilists, CWG champion Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and Manju Bamboriya (66kg), will begin their campaign on Saturday.
In the non-Indian bouts, Wen Lu Yang of China defeated 2016 world champion Alessia Mesiano of Italy — the bronze-medal winner in the 2014 and 2022 editions — with a monumental victory by unanimous decision in the 60kg category.
The Chinese pugilist, who recently won the silver medal at the Strandja Memorial, showcased immense confidence and smart technique to overpower her opponent and advance to the Round of 16.
On the other hand, the 2018 Asian Games champion Oh Yeonji (60kg) of South Korea and five-time World Championships medallist Elif Guneri (75kg) of Turkey recorded contrasting victories in their respective bouts.
While the South Korean comfortably outclassed Esmeralda Falcon of Mexico with a 5:0 verdict, the Turkish pugilist had to work hard to defeat Baison Manikon of Thailand 5:2 after the bout was reviewed.
The ongoing event is witnessing the participation of 324 boxers, including several Olympic medallists, from 65 countries fighting for titles in the 12 weight categories.
As many as 11 countries have boycotted the event as the International Boxing Association (IBA) has allowed Russian and Belarusian boxers to participate under their flags despite Internationals Olympic Committee (IOC) sanctions, including a ban on national flags, symbols and anthems.
