Preeti falls in first round

A quick scan of the first day8217;s order of play at the World Women8217;s Boxing Championships revealed there would be just one Indian in action today 8211; 19-year-old Preeti Beniwal.

A quick scan of the first day8217;s order of play at the World Women8217;s Boxing Championships revealed there would be just one Indian in action today 8211; 19-year-old Preeti Beniwal. Her opponent Karolina Michalczuk of Poland completely outclassed her today, and in no time at all, the scoreboard read 24-9 in favour of the Pole, a quarter-finalist at last year8217;s world championships in Podolsk, Russia.

8220;We were not really surprised, we were expecting this. That girl is a very hard-hitter and her punches are extremely powerful,8221; said coach Chandra Lal on young Preeti8217;s bout.

The teenager could get just one point from the first bout, and Michalczuk8217;s straight punches did not allow her to get back into the fight.

Russian Olesya Gladkova, the defending champion in the 48 kg category, looks set to complete the journey towards another gold this year. It may be too early to talk, since these are only the preliminary rounds, but her confidence is certainly not misplaced. 8220;My opponent today was not known to me, so early on I faced a little bit of difficulty; but my technique saw me through,8221; she said after her bout against Boranbayeva Nargul of Kazakhstan ended 25-7 in her favour. 8220;My aim is to repeat last year8217;s triumph, and I feel I can do it,8221; said Olesya.

Sofya Ochigava, another of the Russian team who won the gold last year, describes her bout today as 8220;interesting8221;. Her opponent, Australia8217;s Jasmine Devellerez, though, would definitely employ far stronger words to describe her mauling at the hands of this 19-year-old. Sofya won the bout RSC 0S Referee Stops Contest Outscored as she was leading by 15 points at the end of the second bout 17-2.

An exciting clash saw DPR Korea8217;s Ri Kwang Suk edge Ustralia8217;s Lydia Walczak 23-22. The passionate encouragement of the Canadian team certainly enabled Lydia to stage a comeback, and the scoreboard at the end of the third bout showed a tied score of 23-23. But as was revealed after the bout, Lydia won her final point after the hooter, therefore it was not counted.