Guiyang (China), June 20 (IANS) India produced a commanding display in the semifinals of the World Boxing Cup (Stage 2) on Saturday, with four pugilists advancing to the finals and two others securing bronze medals to take the country’s assured medal tally to six.

Leading the charge was Jyoti in the women’s 48kg category, who edged past Mexico’s Fatima Herrera 3-2 in a closely contested bout. The victory was particularly noteworthy as Herrera had claimed a historic silver medal at the World Boxing Cup in Brazil earlier this year after moving to the 48kg division.

India’s challenge gathered further momentum when Minakshi (51kg) delivered a dominant performance against Spain’s Laura Fuertes Fernandez. The former world No. 1 in the 48kg division, now competing in a higher weight class, outclassed her opponent with a unanimous 5-0 verdict to book her place in the title clash.

Prachi (57kg) continued her impressive run in the tournament, defeating France’s Amina Zidani 4-1 to progress to the final. Prachi has been among India’s standout performers in Guiyang, having already knocked out a Paris Olympics bronze medallist in the quarter-finals.

In the men’s competition, Deepak (70kg) sealed India’s fourth berth in the finals with a clinical 5-0 victory over France’s Makan Traore. Deepak controlled the contest from the outset and will now have a chance to fight for gold on Sunday.

India also collected two bronze medals through Jugnoo (85kg) and Nikhil (55kg), whose campaigns ended in the semi-finals. Jugnoo suffered a 0-5 defeat against France’s Junior Tadah, while Nikhil went down by an identical margin to the USA’s Lorenzo Patricio.

The finals, scheduled for June 21, will see Jyoti take on Uzbekistan’s Farzona Fozilova in the 48kg category, while Minakshi will face home favourite Wu Yu of China in the 51kg final. Prachi is set to meet Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova in the 57kg gold medal bout, while Deepak will square off against Kazakhstan’s Ablaikhan Zhussupov in the men’s 70kg final.

With four boxers in contention for gold, India will look to finish the World Boxing Cup on a high and add more medals to an already impressive campaign.

–IANS

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