Sofia, Feb 22 (Agency) Nandini confirmed India’s first medal by saving her semi-final berth in the 73rd Strandja Memorial Boxing Tournament here in Bulgaria. She registered a comfortable win over Kazakhstan’s Valeriya Axenova in the women’s plus 81kg quarter-finals bout. The 21-year-old started brilliantly and dominated the Kazakh from the word go. Her relentless and powerful punches unsettled her opponent in the third round before the Indian was declared the winner. The reigning national champion Nandini has now secured at least a bronze medal with a place in the last 4 stage where she will take on another Kazakh boxer, Lazzat Kungeibayeva, the former world champion and 2021 Asian Championships gold medallist.
Meanwhile, the current youth world champion Arundhati Choudhary and Parveen also marched into quarter-finals after registering commanding victories by an identical 5-0 margin in their opening round matches played late Tuesday. While Arundhati outclassed Italy’s Melissa Gemini in the 70kg match, Parveen (63kg) blanked Kazakhstan’s Aida Abikeyeva. However, Sachin Kumar (80kg) and Rohit Mor (57kg) and three women, Meena Rani (60kg), Anjali Tushir (66kg) and Saweety (75kg) exited after conceding defeats. On the fourth day of Europe’s oldest international boxing tournament, Anamika (50kg) will look to secure a medal as she will fight in the quarter-finals while Sumit (75kg) will play his second round match. A 17-member Indian contingent, including seven men and 10 women, is participating in the ongoing tournament.