India’s boxer Preeti Pawar’s medal hopes were dashed after she was defeated by Colombia’s Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda in the women’s 54 kg round of 16 at the Paris Olympics. Despite a strong performance in the later rounds, Preeti fell short, ending her campaign in disappointment.
In the first round, Castaneda dominated, with four out of five judges awarding her ten points. Preeti managed to close the gap in the second round, earning three tens from the judges. The third round was a tight contest, but Preeti lost by a narrow 2-3 split decision, ending her chance to advance further.
India faced further setbacks in boxing on Tuesday. In the women’s 57 kg round of 32, Philippines’ Nesthy Petecio defeated Indian boxer Jasmine Lamboria. Jasmine struggled from the start, trailing after the first round where Petecio received ten points from four of the five judges. The dominance continued into the second round, with Petecio earning ten points from all judges. Jasmine needed a dramatic comeback in the final round, but it did not materialize, resulting in a 0-5 loss.
Amit Panghal also exited the Paris Olympics in the men’s 51 kg category. He was beaten by Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba with a score of 1-4. Amit started aggressively, with both boxers exchanging punches, but in the third round, the judges overwhelmingly favored Chinyemba, leading to his victory by a split decision.
These defeats mark a challenging day for Indian boxing at the Paris Olympics, with key athletes falling short of their medal aspirations.