Guwahati: India’s Pooja Rani defeated Ichrak Chaib of Algeria 5-0 in the Round of 16 and advanced to the last 8 of the women’s Middle (69-75kg) category.
Pooja Rani, the reigning Asian champion and the first Indian athlete to qualify for the Olympics, won by a unanimous 5-0 decision against her 20-year-old opponent to move one step closer towards assuring herself and India of a medal.
Pooja used all her experience to control the three-round bout against Chaib, who showed plenty of heart and energy but kept swinging wildly and missed her target.
𝗣𝗢𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗣𝗢𝗢𝗝𝗔 🥊
In her maiden #Olympics bout @BoxerPooja beats 🇩🇿’s I Chaib 5-0 in Round of 16 and with that she becomes 2nd 🇮🇳boxer to reach quarters at @tokyo2020🔥
1 step away from securing a medal 💪🏻#RingKeBaazigar#boxing#Tokyo2020#TeamIndia#PoojaRani pic.twitter.com/i9KQD0KTNc
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) July 28, 2021
Pooja had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with a 50 win over Pornnipa Chutee in the quarter-final of the women’s 75 kg at the Asia-Oceania Olympic qualifiers last year.
