Sarjubala, Seema in World Championships last-8

Last edition’s silver medallist and second seed Sarjubala Devi (48kg) advanced to the quarter-finals along with Seema Poonia (+81kg) as India rounded off a reasonably good day at the Aiba women’s world boxing championships, in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Monday.

Jolted by the ouster of Olympic hopefuls M.C. Mary Kom (51kg), L. Sarita Devi (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg), the Indian contingent had reason to celebrate on the day after Sarjubala and Seema advanced in the non-Olympic categories.

Sarjubala, a former junior world champion, gave India the perfect start by pummelling Sri Lanka’s Erandi Kaluhath 3-0. The boxer from Manipur was hardly challenged as Kaluhath looked intimidated from the very first round.

The 22-year-old kept a tight grip on the proceedings by unleashing accurate jabs to be the judges’ unanimous choice. She will face Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaibay, who defeated Sweden’s Lise Sandebjer 3-0.

Seema was equally dominant in her win over Azerbaijan’s Aynur Rzayeva, who was sluggish for most part of the bout and was hardly a match to the attacking Indian. Up next for Seema is China’s Wang Shijin.