Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Neeraj (57kg) struck gold while Gaurav Solanki (56kg) had to settle for the silver as Indian boxers finished their campaign on a high with a six-medal haul at the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament 2019 in Kaspiysk, Russia on Saturday.
Lovlina, a World Championship bronze medallist, has faced Assunta Canfora before, having suffered a painful 2-3 defeat to her at the India Open final. She was better prepared to face the Italian this time around. The towering Assamese boxer was on guard throughout the bout, generous with her flurry of punches to reverse the India Open score line in her favour, her 3-2 victory securing gold for the boxer.
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After the silver in the India Open and a bronze from the Strandja Cup, this win is also Lovlina's first international gold medal of the year.
After causing a big upset in the semifinals by taking out former world champion Alessia Mesiano 3-2, Neeraj continued her brilliant run against Russia's Malika Shakhidova, registering a commanding 3-0 victory over the latter.
It wasn't all gold for the Indians in Russia as Gaurav Solanki fell to Uzbekistan's Abdulkhay Sharakhmatov. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist was unable to read his opponent's speed and strength and couldn't recover from the blows early in the bout. His 0-5 loss meant he had to make do with a silver medal.
It was bronze for reigning Asian champion Pooja Rani, who also suffered a defeat, losing a closely fought bout with Anna Anfinogenova 3-2 in the middleweight (75k) semifinal.
Govind Sahani (49Kg) and Jony (60Kg) also grabbed bronzes after their semifinal losses. While Govind lost to Russia’s Kurban Bayranbekov 1-4, Jony went down to Russia’s Natalya Shadrina by a similar scoreline.
India finished its Russian campaign with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals in Kaspiysk.
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