Strandja Memorial 2023: Kalavani, Anamika beat world championships medallists, reach semifinals

Jyoti Gulia (52kg) was beaten 3-2 by Romane Moulai of France, Vinakshi (57kg) was ousted 4-1 by USA’s Alyssa Mendoza and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) was defeated 4-1 by Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira in the last-eight.

Anamika Hooda (blue) in action during her quarterfinal bout against Brazil’s Caroline de Almeida at the 74th Strandja Memorial in Sofia on Friday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

S.Kalavani (48kg) and Anamika Hooda (50kg) upset two World championships bronze medallists to advance to the semifinals of the 74th Strandja Memorial Boxing tournament in Sofia on Friday.

Kalavani relied on her counterattacks to beat Aldana Florencia Lopez of Argentina 4-1 in a quarterfinal bout.  

Anamika showcased her aggressive game to beat Brazil’s Caroline de Almeida 5-0.

Meanwhile, Jyoti Gulia (52kg) was beaten 3-2 by Romane Moulai of France, Vinakshi (57kg) was ousted 4-1 by USA’s Alyssa Mendoza and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) was defeated 4-1 by Brazil’s Beatriz Ferreira in the last-eight.

On Thursday night, Sachin Siwach Jr. (54kg), the 2021 World youth champion, recorded a 4-1 win against Uzbek Muzafarov Shakhzod and Asian bronze medallist Govind Sahani (48kg) outsmarted another Uzbek and two-time Asian champion Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov 5-0 to make it to the semifinals.

Akash Sangwan (67kg) exited with a 5-0 defeat to Denmark’s Sebastian Terteryan and Narender Berwal (+92kg) lost 4-1 to Azerbaijan’s Mahammad Abdullayev.