Indian sports wrap, January 6: Lovlina beats Saweety at National Boxing C’ships; Amit escapes defeat against Priyanshu
BOXING
It was expected to be a fiery contest, and it did not disappoint. Former World championship silver medalist Saweety Boora faced off against Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain in the second round of the 75kg at the Elite Men’s and Women’s national boxing championships here, and the youngster took the honours, winning a close contest 3-2 at the Gautam Buddha University here on Tuesday.
It was the most-awaited bout of the day, and with both not lacking supporters, there was no tentativeness or sizing up between the two boxers. Saweety was on the attack from the beginning and kept up the punches, relying more on speed and aggression. It took Lovlina by surprise, and the opening round duly went to the elder pro from Haryana.
But Lovlina gradually asserted herself, using her height and reach to advantage, pushing back and taking the second round by the flimsiest of margins even as the bout resembled more and more a wrestling contest. Both also received a warning each from the referee, but the physical play continued before the decision went in the Assamese boxer’s favour.
“I am disappointed with the result because if you see the entire bout, even in slow motion, none of the punches she was awarded points for even touched me. But I am not really upset because I am used to it. Whether in selections or competitions, I have never had it easy. I have always had to completely dominate my opponent to be considered a winner, and I am ready for that,” Saweety said after the bout.
Meanwhile, Amit Panghal too barely escaped an upset defeat to Haryana youngster Priyanshu, losing the opening round before taking the second and dominating in the third, bringing all his experience to outplay his opponent in the 55kg and stay on course for a showdown with Jadumani Singh.
Most of the other favourites on the day had it easy with Nitu Ghanghas (51kg) and Sakshi Chaudhary (54kg) winning in less than a minute each, the referee stopping the contest in the first round, while Hussamuddin won 5-0 against Ashish in the 70kg.
Important results:
Women: 51kg: Nitu Ghanghas (Har) bt Priya (HP) RSC; 54kg: Sakshi Chaudhary (SSCB) bt Manasa Veni Anakapalli (AP) RSC; 75kg: Lovlina Borgohain (Asm) bt Saweety Boora (Har) 3-2.
Men: 55kg: Jadumani Singh (SSCB) bt Parthiban R (TN) RSC; Amit Panghal (SSCB) bt Priyanshu (Har) 3-2; 60kg: Hussamuddin (SSCB) bt Ashish (HP) 5-0.
– Uthra Ganesan
SQUASH
Anahat cruises into British Junior U-19 Open squash final
Top-seeded Indian Anahat Singh cruised into her maiden women’s under-19 final at the prestigious British Junior Open (BJO) squash underway at the University of Birmingham with a 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 semifinal victory over Egypt’s Malika El Karaksy (3/4) in just 28 minutes.
Delhi’s Anahat, winner of 12 PSA Tour titles already at just 17 years, will meet European junior champion and second seed Lauren Baltayan of France for the crown.
It’s Anahat’s ninth BJO final across age-groups, as she aims to become only the second Indian to win the BJO U-19 title after Joshna Chinappa in 2005.
Anahat, who beat Malika in the BJO U-17 final and the World Junior Championships quarterfinals last year, kept attacking the front corners and converted those opportunities into winners to close out the contest in straight games in what is the 100th anniversary edition of the BJO.
Meanwhile, Aryaveer Dewan, the second seed in the boys’ U-17 category, went down in the semifinals to Egypt’s Philopater Saleh (3/4) 9-11, 5-11, 7-11.
– Team Sportstar
TENNIS
Netherlands leave out Griekspoor, Van de Zandschulp for Davis Cup tie vs India
The Netherlands have left out their top-ranked singles players Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp in their four-member squad for the Davis Cup Qualifiers tie against India in Bengaluru on February 7-8.
Griekspoor, currently the Dutch No.1 and ranked 25 in the world in singles, and former world No.22 Van de Zandschulp, who is now placed 75th, were notable omissions from the team named by the Royal Dutch Lawn Tennis Association.
The Dutch challenge will instead be led by Jesper de Jong, ranked 71 in singles, along with Guy den Ouden, who is placed 158th.
India will be led by Sumit Nagal (ranked 275) and Dhakshineswar Suresh (ranked 521).
Karan Singh (ranked 466) is the third singles option for the hosts, while Yuki Bhambri (ranked 21) and Rithvik Bollipalli (ranked 91) will take care of the doubles rubber.
– PTI
ARCHERY
Deotale takes top spot in compound men’s qualification round
Former World champion and current National champion Ojas Deotale scored 714 points to take the top spot in the compound men’s qualification round at the first selection trials on the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Kolkata on Tuesday.
Uday Kamboj (712) finished second, while Kushal Dalal and Manav Jadhav (710 apiece) were tied for third place. World University Games champion Sahil Jadhav (709), Worlds and Asian Games medallists Rajat Chauhan and Abhishek Verma, and Sehajpreet Singh (708 apiece) were joint-sixth.
World championships and World Games medallist Rishabh Yadav, Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam, and Sangampreet Singh Bisla (707 apiece) shared the ninth position.
-Team Sportstar
Published on Jan 06, 2026