Istanbul, (Samajweekly) : Indian boxers Gaurav Solanki and Sonia Lather produced dominant performances on the opening day to kickstart their campaign on a winning note at the Bosphorus Boxing Tournament here on Wednesday.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games champion Solanki looked in complete control from the word go as he blanked opponent Arapov Aidos of Kazakhstan 5-0 to enter quarter-finals in the 57kg men’s category. The World Championship bronze medallist Lather also dominated her opponent Rosorio Milogros from Argentina before completing 5-0 win in the women’s 57kg. The 27-year-old Haryana pugilist Lather will now take on local favourite Surmeneli Tugcenaz in the second round match on Thursday.
Meanwhile, three other Indian pugilists suffered losses in their respective opening bouts. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Naman Tanwar went down 4-1 against Turkey’s Baki Yalcin Muhammed in men’s 91kg while PL Prasad lost to Kazakhstan’s Abdikadyr Damir 5-0 in men’s 52kg category. Prayag Chavhan (men’s 75kg) and Pooja (women’s 75kg) also fell short against Azerbaijan’s Sahsuvarli Karman and Russia’s Shamonova Anastasia respectively.
On the second day of the event, six more Indian boxers will be seen in action as they begin their campaign. World Championship bronze medallist Shiva Thapa (63kg), Duryodhan Negi (69kg), Brijesh Yadav (81kg) and Kishan Sharma (+91kg) will compete in the men’s category while Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Parveen (60kg) will be seen in women’s category.
A 13-member (eight men and five women) Indian boxing contingent participating in the on-going Bosphorus Boxing Tournament, which is being held from March 15-21 and have strong competition in presence of top boxing nations like Russia, Argentina and Kazakhstan.
