World Boxing Championships: Minakshi enters semifinal, assures India of medal

Minakshi Hooda became the fourth Indian woman to move into the semifinals and ensure a podium finish at the World boxing championships in Liverpool on Friday.

A 52kg Asian silver medallist in 2022, Minakshi outsmarted 19-year-old home challenger Alice Pumphrey 5-0 in a women’s 48kg quarterfinal bout.

The taller Minakshi, the more accomplished of the two, beautifully used her long range and agile legs to move around the ring and deliver jabs and combinations to secure the first round with a unanimous decision.

Despite a lot of holding and a bit of wrestling-like action, Minakshi moved in and out to land clean and accurate shots while Alice, a World under-19 champion, tried to catch up in the second period.

The Englishwoman closed the gap and attacked desperately, but the Indian had the game to withstand the pressure, hit the target and walk away as a deserving winner.

Minakshi will take on Mongolian former Worlds and Asian medallist Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the semifinals.

Jadumani Singh (50kg) put up a brave fight against 2023 World champion Sanzhar Tashkenbay of Kazakhstan before losing his quarterfinal bout 0-4.

While Jadumani moved in to chase the taller Kazakh and launch his attacks, Tashkenbay tackled the Indian’s moves with excellent counters.

Southpaw Tashkenbay’s superb back and forth movement and opportune hitting gave him an upper-hand in the second round, in which Jadumani lost more ground because of a point deduction for holding.

The never-say-die Indian maintained pressure to win the third round unanimously but lost in overall scoring.

Published on Sep 12, 2025