Sakshi upsets fourth seed…

Sakshi upsets fourth seed, Simranjit moves into quarter-finals of Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers

Former world youth champion Sakshi Chaudhary (57kg) and former World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) moved one step closer to their dreams of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics by entering the quarter-finals at the Asian/Oceanian Olympic Qualifiers in Amman, Jordan.

It was a brilliant show by the 19-year-old Sakshi, who knocked out the fourth seed and 2019 Asian Championships silver medallist Nilawan Techasuep of Thailand 4-1. In a performance that oozed maturity, Sakshi displayed her remarkable speed in the opening round as she took time to gauge her opponent. The Thai’s left-hand punches made the difference in a tight first round and she carried that momentum to rain down blows on the Indian who visibly struggled in the face of the onslaught.

But the strategy worked brilliantly for the young Indian as she saved her best for the last. Having conserved her energy in the second round, she looked fresher of the two in the final round. A patient Sakshi intelligently used her right hand to counter the attack and that slowed down the Thai before she ran away with the win.

 Sakshi will now take on IM Aeji of Korea, yet another youth world champion in 60kg category, from the 2017 World Youth Championships in Guwahati.

 Simranjit Kaur (60kg) too was highly impressive in her bout with Kazakhstan’s Rimma Volossenko, on whom she delivered a 5-0 blow.

 Simranjit’s next opponent would be second seed and 2019 Asian Championships bronze medallist Namuun Monkhor of Mongolia.