Lovlina clinches Paris Olympics berth, Preeti shines with bronze

World champion Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) locked an Olympic quota for herself by moving to the final while young Indian boxer Preeti Pawar (54kg) signed off with a bronze medal at the Asian Games here on Tuesday.

Borgohain, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, cleverly managed her bout against Asian Championship silver medallist Baison Manikon of Thailand to win by a unanimous 5-0 decision and book her ticket for next year’s Paris Games.
Preeti, whose father is an assistant sub-inspector in Haryana Police, put up a good show but lost 0-5 to reigning flyweight champion China’s Chang Yuan. She has already secured an Olympic quota.

Both the southpaw boxers showcased their high skill and ring IQs in the opening three minutes. While Preeti looked to poke and peck with a right hook, the Chinese kept landing right hooks. At one point, the 19-year-old Indian landed a double jab, followed by two right hooks and two body shots to score crucial points. But Chang replied aggressively with a right cross and a flurry of jabs.

The Chinese boxer was cleaner with her punches and the four of the five judges ruled in her favour in the opening round. In the second round, Preeti dialled up the intensity, trying to break Chang’s defence. But the Chinese, who enjoyed the crowd support, defended well, moving around the ring.

Chang was warned a couple of times for hitting behind the head of Preeti. Having done enough, the Chinese boxer continued to defend in the final three minutes to take the win.

In the 75kg semifinal, Borgohain controlled the bout by using her long reach and kept landing straight punches. Trailing after the opening round, Manikon went all out in the next three minutes only to lose steam in the final round.