Gujarat Giants beat Odisha Warriors in Indian Boxing League

Gujarat Giants registered a commanding 5-2 win over Odisha Warriors in the Big Bout Indian Boxing League at the Gautam Buddha University Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.  With a confident and efficient Ashish Kumar setting the ball rolling in the second bout of the evening, Gujarat Giants' big guns Sarita Devi (women's 60kg), southpaw Mohammed Husamuddin (57kg) and skipper Amit Pangal (51kg) ensured that the team claim an early win in their opening league match.  For Odisha Warriors, it was their second successive loss.

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Ashish Kumar dominated his 75kg clash with Neel Kamal Singh, imposing two standing counts on his opponent in the third round. It was no surprise that his weary rival retired in the third round.  Sarita Devi, a former world champion, showed her class in a unanimous points verdict over Priyanka  Chaudhary in the women's 60kg bout. In an evenly-contested 57kg bout, Husamuddin beat back Commonwealth Games 51kg gold medallist Gaurav Solanki. 

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World Championship finalist Amit Pangal sealed a triumph for his team with a facile conquest of Asian Games gold medallist Jasurbek Lapitov of Uzbekistan in the 51kg bout.  Earlier, Uzbekistan's Jakhangir Rakhmonov drew first blood for Odisha Warriors with a split verdict over 33-year-old Duryodhan Singh Negi in the 69kg class bout.  With Gujarat Giants' victory secured, Rajesh Narwal stepped into the ring with an air of confidence in the women's 51kg bout against Savita, translating that in a 3-2 win.  Odisha Warriors' Naman Tanwar, a Commonwealth Games medallist, beat British champion Scott Forrest in the 91kg. Gujarat Giants won the toss and opted to block the Youth Women's 57kg bout that would have seen Jyoti Kanwar go up against Odisha Warriors' Jasmine.  The option of blocking one of the bouts allows teams to bring strategy into play.  Gujarat Giants were aware that Jasmine had picked up one of the two victories for Odisha Warriors in their 2-5 loss to Punjab Panthers on Monday. 

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