Living up to the expectations, World's medallist Manju Rani put up a solid show to begin her campaign on a winning note at the fifth Elite women's National Boxing Championships here on Saturday.
Railway Sports Promotion Board's boxer Manju, who had made headline after winning silver on debut at the 2019 World Championships, made light work of Orissa's Bhabani Barik before winning the second round match 5-0 in the 48kg on the third day of the prestigious event which has been hosted by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) in association with the Haryana Boxing Sangh.
Haryana's Nitu also delivered an equally flawless performance as she beat Rajasthan's Swasti Arya by a similar margin in another one-sided bout in the 48kg category.
Meanwhile, in the second round of the 50kg category, Punjab's Komal and Andhra Pradesh's Ramya Guduru registered hard-fought victories. While Komal recovered well in time against Madhya Pradesh's Deepa Kumar to win 3-2, Andhra Pradesh's Ramya Guduru defeated Uttar Pradesh's Rinky Kishor 4-1.
Earlier, during the bouts played late on the second day, two-time Asian champion Pooja Rani started her campaign with a comfortable 5-0 win against All India Police's Pinki 5-0. Pooja, who hails from the Bhiwani district, had represented India at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Since the resumption of sports in India post Covid-19 pandemic, this is the sixth national championships that the BFI (Boxing Federation of India) has organised, following the successful conduction of junior, youth and men's national events.
The tournament has been witnessing the participation of over 320 boxers from 36 states/union territories/boards across the country.
( With inputs from ANI )
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