Sonia Lather, Vinita Mahar, Mamta and Monica Saun, among others, advanced to the summit clash of the Federation Cup Women's Boxing Championship.
On the third day of the tournament, Uttarakhand and All India Police emerged as front-runners. Five boxers secured a final spot for the host state, while four made it through for AIP. The final of the fly-weight class will see National Championship silver medalist Sonia Lather Singh of Andhra Pradesh lock horns with local girl Vinita Mahar, who bagged a bronze at the National Games earlier this year.
While Lather upset National Games gold medalist Vanlal Duati of Mizoram in an easy fly-weight bout, Vinita had to dig deep against Saroj of Haryana. Lather dominated proceedings throughout the bout and went on to secure the final spot with a 17:6 victory. Vinita, on the other hand, was given a run for her money. She had a one-point deficit after the third round, but the teenage boxer managed to squeeze a two-point advantage in the final round owing to some feisty combinations. She won on points, 14:13.
Former youth national champion Monica Saun of Uttarakhand hammered Renu Jaiswal of Delhi on her way to the title clash of the light-welter division. She will take on Suman of the All India Police team in the final. Suman beat Namita Kachuari of Assam. Mamata from Manipur ousted National Games bronze medalist A Punyavathi of Andhra Pradesh in a light fly-weight bout. The 20-year-old boxer, who bagged a bronze at the recently-concluded 12th Senior Nationals, put up a stunning performance against the Andhra girl who seemed completely out of sorts. Mamata led throughout the eight minutes of play, never allowing Punyavathi to set into a rhythm. She won 16:6 on points to set up the summit clash with Krishna Thapa of Madhya Pradesh.
Thapa, a silver medal winner at the Senior Nationals, beat P Nirosha of Mizoram. Nirosha was no match against the more attacking style of the 20-year-old. Thapa was leading 24:12 in the fourth round when the referee decided to stop the bout. Reigning national champion in super heavyweight division, Kavita Chahal of the All India Police team had little trouble drubbing BV Padmavathi of Andhra Pradesh. She was leading 6:0 in the first round when the referee intervened to stop the fight. Chahal will go up against Poonam Vishnoi of Uttarakhand in the summit clash.
The Federation Cup Women's Boxing Championship, being held in Nainital, brings out the best state and board teams from the domestic arena and provides a perfect opportunity for amateur boxers to showcase their talent. The top teams from the National Champions are invited to partake in the contest along with the host team.