World Boxing Cup Finals: Preeti secures medal on return as Indian boxers reign supreme on Day 1

Returning after a year away from international action and a draining battle with Hepatitis A, Preeti Pawar marked her comeback in style, securing a medal for India at the World Boxing Cup Finals here on Sunday.

The 22-year-old defeated fellow Hangzhou Asian Games bronze medallist Nigina Uktamova of Uzbekistan by unanimous decision to move to the semifinals of the women’s 54kg category.

A month before the Paris Olympics, Preeti had been diagnosed with Hepatitis A.

“It has been a challenging period for me as I was detected with Hepatitis A a month before the Olympics. But that also motivated me to make a comeback and feel like I have become stronger,” Preeti said after her bout.

Despite the illness, she pushed through the Olympics and bowed out only after a tight round-of-16 loss to world championships silver medallist Yeni Arias of Colombia.

But once she returned home, the toll of the infection caught up with her.

“It took a while to recover. After the Olympics I was on complete bed rest for three months. But slowly I made a comeback” she said.

“I worked on my endurance to get in shape as the illness had taken a toll on my body. I played five rounds of boxing instead of three in sparring, did a lot of running.”

Those long hours showed on Sunday as Preeti displayed little signs of rust, putting up an electric, high-tempo performance.

Using quick feet, sharper defensive movements and crisp combinations, she controlled the contest throughout, leaving Uktamova struggling to match her pace and intensity.

Minakshi, Ankush, Narender too move to semifinals

Reigning women’s 48kg world champion Minakshi Hooda, Narender Berwal (+90kg) and Ankush Phangal (80kg) too moved to the semifinals, assuring India of more medals.

Kicking off the tournament, Minakshi set the tone early with dominating win against Kazakhstan’s Bolat Akbot.

With the competition beginning from the quarterfinal stage, the Haryana boxer used her superior reach to great effect, landing jabs and right hands consistently.

She opened with a sharp jab, which Akbota responded to with a right cross, but Minakshi soon seized control with clever combinations and sustained pressure.

“This has been life’s best year. I am happy to be world champion but I know this is the first step and I have to train more because there is more focus on me now,” Minakshi said.

Making his senior international debut, Ankush produced one of the day’s most composed performances, soaking up early pressure before shifting gears with smart combination play.

Finding openings with precision, he landed telling blows to outbox Japan’s Go Wakaya, sealing a unanimous decision win.

Seasoned campaigner Narender dipped into his reservoir of experience to edge past Ukraine’s Andrii Khaletskyi with a 4-1 split verdict, securing his place in the last four.

“He was a tough opponent, I had seen his bout on Youtube and the plan was to go all out in the first round itself. I have worked on maintaining range and have seen improvement in my game,” Narender said.

In the other bouts of the day, Poland’s Wiktoria Rogalinska dominated Ukraine’s Inna Statkevych (5-0) to advance in the women’s 54kg bracket, while Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova won with a commanding 5-0 scoreline against Nigeria’s Patricia Mbata in the women’s 70kg.

In the men’s draw, Ukraine’s Elvin Aliiev and Uzbekistan’s Adkhamjon Mukhiddinov were clinical in their respective 65kg quarterfinals, each winning 5:0, before Kazakhstan’s Begaliyev Sanzhar-Ali and Australia’s Marlon Sevehon earned decisive victories in the 80kg category.

Uzbekistan’s Khalimjon Mamasoliev also progressed authoritatively in the 90+kg division with a sweeping 5:0 result.