By Admin 
Nupur Sheoran booked a place in the women’s 80+kg semifinals and ensured India’s first medal at the World boxing championships in Liverpool on Wednesday.
In a field of 10 boxers, the 26-year-old Nupur, who got a first-round bye for her World Cup Stage-II gold medal in Astana this year, defeated young Uzbek Oltinoy Sotimboeva 4-1 in the quarterfinals to set up a last-four clash with Turkiye’s Seyma Duztas.
Following a cautious start, Nupur and Oltinoy were engaged in clinching for most of the first three minutes. Nupur landed combinations against the Uzbek’s jabs to register a 4-1 lead.
Nupur, who fell on the canvas twice amid messy tussles in the first two rounds, boxed from a distance to connect a few counters, but lost some ground as Oltinoy impressed three of the five judges in the second round.
Both boxers were penalised a point apiece early in the third round. But it was Nupur who found the target more often amid the chaotic action to emerge as the winner.
On Tuesday night, Minakshi (women’s 48kg), Jadumani Singh (50kg) and Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) won their respective bouts with an identical 5-0 verdict to reach the quarterfinals.
Minakshi got past Chinese Qiuping Wang and would meet England’s Alice Pumphrey.
Jadumani got the better of another English boxer, Reece Readshaw. He will face Kazakhstan’s Sanzhar Tashkenbay next.
Jamwal defeated Fernando De Jesus Piter Ynoa of Dominican Republic. He will take on Georgia’s Lasha Guruli.
Jugnoo (85kg) lost his pre-quarterfinal bout to Scotland’s Robert William McNulty 0-5.