Asian Games: Parveen Hooda punches her way into Women's 57kg quarters
Parveen won the first two rounds of the match. Xu Zichun struck back in the third round but the judges ruled the overall score in favour of the 23-year-old Indian boxer.
HANGZHOU: Indian boxer Parveen Hooda kicked off her 19th Asian Games campaign with a win and secured her spot in the last eight in Hangzhou on Friday. Parveen won 5:0 on points against local hope Xu Zichun in the women's 57kg round of 16 bout at Hangzhou 2023.
Parveen won the first two rounds of the match. Xu Zichun struck back in the third round but the judges ruled the overall score in favour of the 23-year-old Indian boxer. She maintained amazing footwork across the three rounds and managed to keep a constant distance between herself and her opponent.
Parveen will square off against Uzbekistan's Sitora Turdibekova in the quarterfinal on October 1, with a semifinal berth and medal in sight. On the other hand, Indian boxer Lakshya Chahar suffered a defeat 4:1 on points against Kyrgyzstan's Omurbek Bekzhigit Uulu in the men's 80kg round of 16.
While contesting in an Olympic weight category in Hangzhou, Chahar was unable to confirm a Paris 2024 quota for India. Fellow boxers Arundhati Chaudhary (women's 66kg), Deepak Bhoria (men's 51kg), Shiva Thapa (men's 63.5kg) and Sanjeet (men's 92kg) also suffered a round of 16 exit. Later in the day, Nikhat Zareen will lock horns with Jordan's Hanan Nassar in the women's 50kg quarterfinal.