Sonia Lather has steamrolled past Aizhan Khojabekova of Kazakhstan in their semi-final bout to book a place in the final of AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2016 currently being held at Astana, Kazakhstan.
Being the sole remaining Indian flag-bearer at the tournament after the quarter-final stage which saw all four of her compatriots crash out, Sonia had already confirmed a medal finish when she trounced Polish boxer Rygielska Aneta 3-0 on Tuesday to make the last four of the 57kg category.
As the high-voltage semi-final clash got underway inside Ring A, the 24-year-old Indian pugilist did not spare an inch of space for her Kazakh rival to capitalise on, and eventually emerged as the undisputed winner at the end of four hard-fought rounds.
She sealed her final berth via yet another 3-0 victory, with the judges’ decision going her way and the scores reading 39:37, 40:36 and 40:36.
Sonia will now fight Italy’s Alessia Mesiano for the world championship title in the final match here on Friday. The Italian defeated Bulgaria’s Denitsa Eliseeva in the earlier semi-final today.
Sonia’s last hurdle promises to be her toughest challenge yet, and there will be a lot riding on the fight when the two finally face off tomorrow afternoon.
