For most part of her bout, Sonia made sure she didn’t fight too close to her opponent, a tactic that her coaches had instructed to deploy. That, along with smart movement in the ring throughout the bout kept her opponent Taoujani Doaa of Morocco at bay over three rounds.
While a win looked likely, Sonia made sure that her hand was raised by going all out with her attacks in the final round. Her plan worked to perfection and she continued India’s winning start at the Aiba World Championships in New Delhi.
She outplayed her opponent from Morocco and won her debut World Championships bout with an unanimous decision to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the 57kg weight category on Saturday.
“I knew I had to maintain my distance and go close only to find openings. I was successful on a few occasions each in the first two rounds. But in the third, I went all out and used my combination punches,” Sonia said after the bout.
This is not the first time the 21-year-old has surprised many with her debut performance. During her maiden Senior Nationals in 2016, Sonia claimed the gold medal by beating Kamla Bist of Uttarakhand in Haridwar.
There was little that she did wrong in Delhi on Saturday and the only time she looked vulnerable was the final minute, trying to avoid a spree of punches from Doaa. But her swift movement in the ring was enough to see off the danger.
With a strong crowd at the KD Jadhav Indoor Stadium cheering for her, the Bhiwani boxer played second fiddle and waited for the her opponent to make the first move. But every time there was an opening, she managed to land her punches and made sure the momentum was firmly in her favour.
During the bout, India coach Shiv Singh was seen pushed his ward to attack and not curtail her aggression in the later half of the bout. “My coaches said I was doing well and gave me the confidence to attack,” she said.
The win meant that Indian boxers are unbeaten at the Women’s World Championships with three wins in two days. Manisha Maun and Sarita Devi gave India the perfect start with wins on day two.
Sonia will next take on Stanimira Petrova, who defeated Rianna Rios of the US in what was a one-sided bout. The former world champion Bulgarian, winner of gold medal at Jeju in 2014 in the bantamweight category, proved too good in the end.
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