Kalaivani storms into Elorda Cup final, Kuldeep in last-four stage

NEW DELHI: Indian boxer Kalaivani Srinivasan stormed into the Elorda Cup final with a dominating victory while Kuldeep Kumar progressed to the semi-finals in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, on Saturday.

Kalaivani, who hails from Chennai, demonstrated excellent skills against Uzbekistan’s Farzona Fozilova in the women’s 48kg semi-final contest. Kalaivani’s powerful blows and persistent attack did not give her opponent any opportunity to settle down as the Indian comfortably won by unanimous decision in the end.

Kuldeep had provided India a winning start on the fourth day of the competition, but had to work hard for the victory. Kuldeep faced a stiff challenge from local Kairat Yernur in a nail-biting men’s 48kg quarter-final clash. However, with cautious approach and precise attack, the Indian notched up a 3-2 win.

Meanwhile, Yashpal lost to Kazakhstan’s Aslanbek

Shymbergenov by a 0-5 margin in the 71kg quarter-finals. Among women, Babita Bisht (81kg), Jyoti (52kg) and Neema (63kg) signed off with bronze medals after defeats in the their respective semi-final bouts.

While Babita suffered a defeat against China’s Zheng Lu by ‘Referee Stopping the Contest’ verdict, Jyoti and Neema conceded identical 0-5 losses to Uzbekistan’s Feruza Kazakova and Kazakhstan’s Anar Tursynbek respectively. Savita’s challenge came to an end in the quarters as she lost 0-5 to Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Namiki Tsukimi (Japan) in the 50kg category. The finals will be played on Monday.