Boxing: Pooja Rani one win away from a medal - What are the top three bouts in her career?

Indian boxer Pooja Rani made a memorable Olympic debut as she defeated Algeria’s Ichrak Chaib 5-0 in women’s 75kg Round of 16 bout at the Tokyo 2020 on Wednesday. The 30-year-old is now one win away from confirming a medal for India.

Ten years senior to her opponent Chaib, Rani used her experience to great effect in her opening bout. She will face former World champion Li Qian of China in the quarterfinals on Saturday, July 31.

Rani, 30, had missed out on qualifying for Rio 2016 but is hoping to make the most of her chance in Tokyo. With the win over Chaib she also busted the myth that Indian boxers struggle in heavier weight categories. The only Indian woman to have won an Olympic medal so far is MC Mary Kom, who clinched a bronze at London 2012 in the 51kg flyweight category.

With Rani in with a chance of a podium finish, we look at three of her best bouts yet:

2019 Asian Championships

The boxer from Haryana had switched up to the 81kg light heavyweight category by the 2019 Asian Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Eight years after making her international debut, Rani finally clinched gold at a major event as she knocked out 2018 world champion China's Wang Lina in the final.

“I don’t think anyone expected me to win a gold medal back then. I was also coming back from an injury at the time. But beating the world champion from China to prove everyone wrong was special,” Rani had told the Olympics.com.

Rani, who had taken up boxing against her father’s wishes, had suffered from shoulder and wrist injuries in 2017. But she proved everyone, including herself, that she belonged to the top level by claiming gold at the Asian Championships.

2020 Asia-Oceania Olympics qualifiers

Having missed out on qualifying for Rio 2016, Pooja Rani took the first chance on offer to book her Tokyo berth.

She became the first Indian boxer, out of a record nine, to qualify for Tokyo 2020 on scoring a commanding 5-0 win over Pornnipa Chutee of Thailand in the quarterfinal of the 2020 Asia-Oceania Olympics qualifiers.

Using her left uppercut and right jabs to great effect, Rani won the favour of all five judges to scored her 10 in each of the three rounds.

2021 Asian Championships

Rani continued her dominance on the continental level as she won her second gold at the Asian Championships in May this year.

She defeated Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekistan by a 5-0 verdict in the women's 75kg final in Dubai. The 30-year-old was the lone Indian woman to win a gold medal at the Championships.

“This gold medal is also very important to me as it boosts my confidence and puts me in a very good space mentally before the biggest event of my life,” Rani was quoted as saying by Sportstar after the event. “It is a massive help, to be honest, as it reassures me that whatever I have been doing since last year is working well.”