IMAGE: India’s Preeti Pawar reached the final in the 54kg category with a comfortable win over Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei at the World Boxing Cup Finals, in Greater Noida on Tuesday. Photograph: BCCI
Rising Indian boxer Preeti Pawar stunned Olympic medallist and three-time world champion Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei, while Arundhati Choudhary and Parveen Hooda marked successful international returns with contrasting wins to enter the gold medal bouts of the World Boxing Cup Finals, in Greater Noida on Tuesday.
Minakshi Hooda (48kg), Nupur (+80kg), Ankush Phangal (80kg), Abhinash Jamwal (65kg) and Narender Berwal (+90kg) also advanced to the finals in their respective weight categories.
The talented Preeti (54kg) refused to let the experienced Huang find rhythm, cutting off angles and denying the reigning world champion any momentum en route to a commanding 4-0 win.
“I knew she is a world champion, but to become a world champion, you must beat a world champion. That was my mindset going into the bout — that I have to give my 100 percent and win in front of the home crowd,” Preeti said.
Former world youth champion Arundhati, returning after a one-and-a-half-year international hiatus due to a wrist injury, showed no signs of rust. She registered a resounding third-round RSC (Referee Stops Contest) win over World Cup medallist Leonie Müller of Germany in the 70kg semifinals.
She dominated the first two rounds with clean aggression, dropped the German once in the second round and knocked her down again in the third to seal a clinical win.
“I was nervous to begin with because my last international experience was a loss in the Paris (2024 Olympics) qualifiers before I underwent wrist surgery. But I told myself, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for,’ and now I’m back,” she said.
World Championship bronze medallist Parveen, competing in her first international event since the 2023 Asian Games, scraped through with a narrow 3-2 win over Poland’s world silver medallist Rygielska Aneta Elzbieta in the 60kg event. Parveen had served a ban for three whereabouts failures within a 12-month period.
“I didn’t just win the bout, I won back my confidence. She is a world silver medallist, so there was pressure. I had no support and it was hard for me,” Parveen said.
Reigning world champion Minakshi continued her strong run, earning a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Korea’s Bak Cho-rong. She controlled the contest throughout, never allowing her opponent a foothold.
Ankush added another dominant 5-0 win, overwhelming Australia’s Marlon Sevehon with his pace and pressure, while Nupur (+80kg) maintained India’s momentum with a similar-margin victory over Ukraine’s Mariia Lovchynska.
Naveen Kumar (90kg) and Saweety (75kg) settled for bronze medals after losing their semifinals. Naveen was beaten 0-5 by England’s Okoh Isaac.
Competing directly in the semifinals, Saweety, stepping in for the absent Lovlina Borgohain in the 75kg category, looked out of sorts and was comprehensively defeated by Australia’s Emma Sue Greentree.
