There was no stopping the Indian juggernaut at the AIBA Youth women's World Boxing Championships as three of home pugilists entered the finals today.
Jyoti Gulia (51kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg) and Ankushita Boro (64kg) claimed contrasting victories to enter the summit clashes of their respective weight categories in front of a packed arena.
Jyoti opened the proceedings for the home contingent and defeated Kazakhstan's Zhansaya Abdraimova. In a draining slugfest, Jyoti emerged triumphant in a split verdict.
The Indian stood out for her sheer tenacity against Abdraimova, who was unrelenting with her attacks but struggled to connect due to Jyoti's shell guard.
Jyoti will be up against Russia's very impressive Ekaterina Molchanova in the final.
Molchanova sailed past Japan's Rinka Kinoshita.
Next up was Shashi against Mongolia's Namun Monkhor in a bout that was fought on defensive tactics. The first three minutes were spent getting a measure of each other before Shashi decided to go on the offensive in the second round.
The dividends were instant for her as Monkhor faced a standing eight count. Monkhor too upped the ante in the final round but Shashi took advantage of her longer reach to connect some clean straights and fetch a unanimous verdict.
Shashi will face Vietnam's Do Hong Ngoc in the final on Sunday.
Walking in to the loudest cheer was local favourite was Ankushita Boro (64kg) against Thailand's Thanchnok Saksri.
Boro did not have an easy opponent in Saksri, who was quick to exploit the defensive lapses committed by the Indian in the opening three minutes.
But Boro raised the intensity in the second and third round to swing the contest in her favour and enter the summit clash.
