Minakshi assures India of medal, men return empty-handed after 12 years

Liverpool, Sep 12 (PTI) Minakshi Hooda assured India of its fourth medal in the ongoing World Boxing Championships as she entered the semifinals even as the men's campaign ended without a podium finish for the first time in 12 years following Jadumani Singh Mandengbam's quarterfinal loss here on Friday.

The lanky Minakshi, competing in the non Olympic 48kg category, outclassed U-19 world champion Alice Pumphrey of England by unanimous decision in the quarterfinal.

Preferring to box on the backfoot, she made optimum use of her long reach to dominate from the outset, landing straight shots at will while counter-attacking effectively.

She will face 2023 silver medallist Lutsaikhany Altantsetseg of Mongolia in the semifinals.

With her win, Minakshi joined Jaismine Lamboria (57kg), Pooja Rani (80kg) and Nupur Sheoran (+80kg) in assuring medals for India.

Jadumani bows out after valiant fight ======================= The tenacious Jadumani Singh tested reigning world champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan to the hilt before bowing out with a 0-4 split verdict in a fast-paced men's 50kg quarterfinal.

With his exit, India's 10-member men's squad finished without a medal for the first time since the 2013 edition.

The disappointing campaign comes on the back of 2023's high in Tashkent, where India returned with three bronze medals through Deepak Bhoria (51kg), Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg).

In the quarterfinal bout, the Manipuri put up an aggressive display, rushing forward to cornering the Kazakh boxer but the two-time Asian medallist landed some accurate punches to edge out Mandengbam 4-1 in the opening round.

Undeterred, Jadumani kept applying pressure though Tashkenbay's slick defence but experience helped the latter dominate the second round on all cards, while the Indian was docked a point for excessive holding.

In the final round, Jadumani came all guns blazing, connecting some sharp right hooks, but by then Tashkenbay had done enough to secure his place in the semifinals. PTI APA AH AH