Tokyo Olympics: Boxer Pooja Rani seals quarterfinal berth with win over Ichrak Chaib

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics has seen a mixed performance from the Indian boxers, while the female performers have excelled so far. Debutant Pooja Rani won her middleweight (75kg) bout against Ichrak Chaib of Algeria 5-0.

Day 5 of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 produced a good result for India in the boxing department. 30-year-old debutant female boxer Pooja Rani won her middleweight (75kg) bout against Ichrak Chaib of Algeria in a convincing 5-0 fashion on Wednesday.

Rani, who happens to be a two-time Asian champion, was dominant right from the start, as she exploited Chaib's lack of ring balance. While the Algerian was also making her Olympics debut, she happened to be ten years younger than the Indian.

As for the bout, Chaib could not place her shots on target, failing to connect on most occasions, while Rani was bright in her defence. As the Algerina missed most of her power punches and wild swing, Rani neutralised it with counterattacks and blows, thoroughly outplaying her.

Rani has become the second Indian female boxer to qualify for the quarters after Lovlina Borgohain (welterweight). While MC Mary Kom (flyweight) would look to do the same in the pre-quarters clash against Ingrit Valencia of Colombia, Simranjit Kaur (lightweight) would take on Sudaporn Seesondee of Thailand in the pre-quarters.

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