Sonia Lather was up against North Korea’s Jo Son Hwa in her featherweight 57kg category quarterfinal bout.
Pavitra’s valiant effort fell just short while Sonia Lather couldn’t figure things out at all as Indian boxers endured a win-less day in the Asian Games here. Sonia, a two-time Asian and world silver-medallist, was up against North Korea’s Jo Son Hwa in her featherweight 57kg category quarterfinal bout. The Indian never quite got a measure of her opponent in a contest that could hardly be described as exciting.
Jo was the one mounting most of the few attacks and being a southpaw, she became all the more difficult for the Indian to decipher. Jo’s jabs connected powerfully but the bout itself wasn’t particularly impressive, given that both the boxers spent a considerable time clinching and holding.
The duo ended up getting a warning each for clinching. About 45 minutes later, Pavitra took the ring against home favourite Huswatun Hasanah in the lightweight 60kg category. The Indian was a comprehensive winner in the first round, unaffected by the partisan crowd’s loud support for Hasanah.
However, Hasanah put the power in her punches from second round onwards, not missing a chance to connect. Pavitra, making her debut at the Games, stood her ground but the effort could not find favour with a majority of the judges, who ruled 3-2 in favour of the Indonesian.
The remaining quarterfinals will be held tomorrow. Two-time medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg), Amit Panghal (49kg), and Dheeraj Rangi (64kg) will fight it out for a place in the men’s semifinals, while Sarjubala Devi (51kg) is the lone woman left in fray for the country.