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India’s Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain and Arundhati Choudhary are arch-rivals inside the ring. On Wednesday, Lovlina and Arundhati will face each other for the first time in the 70kg category in their quest for a berth at the Turkey Women’s World Boxing Championships in May.
At the ongoing National Selection Trials at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Sports Complex in New Delhi, both Lovlina and Arundhati expectedly had a smooth passage into the final. In the semifinals, Lovlina outplayed Pooja 7-0 while Arundhati defeated Priyanka by a similar margin.
The Boxing Federation of India (BFI) announced last year that all medal winners of the 2021 Women’s National Boxing Championships will be given automatic entry into the World Championships. Despite winning the gold medal in her respective weight category, Arundhati was denied that chance as BFI wanted Lovlina to compete in 70kg at the world event.
The BFI thinktank believes Lovlina has a better chance of earning a podium finish than Arundhati in the global competition.
Ignored by BFI, Arundhati went to court. The crisis was diffused as the Women’s World Boxing Championships was postponed due to the pandemic.
The rivalry has now been renewed as both Lovlina and Arundhati are eagerly looking forward to Wednesday’s final.
The winners of all 12 weight categories will represent India at the Women’s World Boxing Championships scheduled to be held in Istanbul from May 6-21.
According to a senior boxing coach, the semifinals on Tuesday went on the expected lines and there wasn’t any upset.
“All the prominent boxers booked a berth for their respective finals," the coach said. "It’s the last chance to make the cut for the Turkey World Championships."
The 52kg final will see Nikhat Zareen and Minakshi trading punches to win the berth for the World Championships. Shikha, meanwhile, will face Renu in the 54kg final.
Sonia Lather will take on Manisha Maun in the 57kg final. Simranjit Kaur (60kg), Saweety (75kg) and Pooja Rani (81kg) are the other prominent boxers who will be seen in action in Wednesday’s finals.
