All India Police boxer Minakshi moved a step closer to defending her 48kg title as she stunned World champion Nitu Ghanghas of Haryana in the quarter-finals of the 8th Elite Women's National Boxing Championship in Noida on Monday.
The 24-year-old Minakshi, an Asian Championships silver medallist, dominated all through the three rounds to pick up a 4-1 split verdict win, defeating the biggest name in the competition.
Though known for her aggressive style, power and lightning-fast speed, Nitu, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion and 2023 World's gold medallist, appeared out of sync, struggling to find her rhythm.
While she occasionally displayed flashes of brilliance with her combination punches, Minakshi was unrelenting in her counter-attacks, skilfully disrupting Nitu's footwork and out-punching her at every turn.
"I am feeling really good. I had lost to Nitu at the Commonwealth Games trial so I knew it would be difficult," a delighted Minakshi said after her bout.
She will face the feisty Sanjana of Delhi who defeated Chandigarh's Guddi in an electrifying quarter-final bout.
Among the other winners of the day were 2014 Incheon Asian Games bronze medallist Pooja Rani (75kg) and World and Asian Championships silver medallist Sonia Lather (54kg) who both booked their spots in the semi-finals.
Representing Railways, Pooja defeated Komal via a comprehensive 5-0 margin. Both the seasoned Haryana pugilist and her opponent from Punjab had scored a podium finish in the middleweight category at the previous Nationals.
Lather, on the other hand, survived a tough challenge from Chandigarh's Monika, securing a narrow 4-3 split decision to move one step closer to the final.
Joining her in the 60kg semis were All India Police's Sanju and Uttar Pradesh's Aparajita Mani, both clinching victories to keep their title hopes alive.
Youth World and National champion Sanamacha Chanu too stormed into the semi-finals of the light middleweight (70kg) category with a dominant first-round RSC victory over Karnataka's AA Saanchi Bollamma.
Reigning champion Lalita (70kg) of Rajasthan also booked her spot in the last four, edging past Punjab's Komalpreet Kaur with a hard-fought 4-1 split decision win.
Services Sports Promotion Board's Sakshi, one of only two pugilists representing the unit, hardly broke a sweat as she powered into the semifinals with a first-round RSC win over Ladakh's Kulsoom. With a silver medal from the previous edition, Sakshi is now just two wins away from upgrading it to gold.
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