AIBA Women's Worlds: Saweety Boora advances to pre-quarters

After Jamuna Boro kicked off India’s campaign at the 2019 AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude with a win, there were contrasting results for the likes of Saweety Boora (75kg) and Neeraj (57kg) on the second day at the event.

While Boora registered a thumping 5-0 unanimous victory over Mongolia's Myagmarjargal Munkhbat, Neeraj ended up on the losing side of a split verdict (2-3) against China’s Qiao Jieru.

Close call

Debutant Neeraj did all she could against Jieru in her featherweight bout. She showed aggression from the first bell, was superior in attack and technique, and defended well.

The Indian seemed destined to progress after putting up a strong fight, but a split call from the officials (27-29, *28-28, *28-28, 27-29, *28-28) ended her journey early in the competition.

Qiao Jieru can consider herself fortunate to have secured the win after receiving a warning for holding.

The Indian contingent appealed against the verdict, the technical committee turned it down after due deliberation.

Clever comeback

Boora, meanwhile, took her time to settle into her bout against Munkhbat. Showing little movement in the opening round, The Indian - a former World Championships silver medallist - adapted a rather defensive approach, reacting only after getting a hit.

The opening three minutes were devoid of action as both showed little signs of engaging in a battle.

Munkhbat, on her part, came out all guns blazing in the second and did manage to unsettle the Indian with a few accurate jabs, forcing Boora to get on an aggressive front in the decider.

The Indian pugilist turned the tie on its head by getting straight into the act in the final round. Clever movement coupled with an all-out attack approach paid dividends as three of the five judges ruled 30-27 while the other two scored 29-28 in her favour.

Boora will now take on Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lauren Price of Wales on October 8.