Pugilist Pooja Rani advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's middleweight division after winning 5-0 in a unanimous decision. She is one victory away from bringing home a medal for India.
A Southpaw, Pooja seemed confident even before the bell went off. She started to dominate from the start and hit clean jabs on the face of Ichrak Chaib of Algeria. Chaib lost her balance and slipped to the floor. Rani won the first round by getting a score of 10 from all the judges.
In round two, Pooja continued in the same manner. She moved well and waited for the opportunity to counter-attack. Although Ichrak tried to go offensive in the last 30 seconds, Pooja’s strategy proved successful and she won the second round by 5-0.
As the bell went off in the third round, the Algerian boxer desperately tried to get some punches in. It was a last-ditch attempt to knockout Rani, but she held her ground and counter punched effectively. This scintillating performance from Pooja will keep her spirits high ahead of the Last-8 match on July 31.
On the other hand, her fellow Indian boxer Mary Kom will play her round-of-16 bout against Ingrit Valencia of Colombia.
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