CHENNAI: NOT so long ago, Arundhati Choudhary had faced a tough choice. The boxer from Rajasthan had proven that she was a certified talent by claiming gold at the 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in Poland. But that success had come at a weight category (69kg) that is not part of the Olympic programme. Arundhati had a tough choice then; she was well-aware that she needed to shift. So, Arundhati opted for 66kg. However, she was up against Yang Liu of China in the Round of 16 in the Asian Games (the first quota event). Yang went on to win the gold.
On Wednesday, she got a step closer to her Olympic dreams by registering a 5-0 win over Stephanie Pieneiro of Puerto Rico. With that win, she entered the pre-quarterfinals.
Ankushita Boro (60kg) beat Rimma Volossenko of Kazakhstan to march into quarters. Nishant Dev (71kg) also got closer to his Paris dreams with a 5-0 win over Peerapat Yeasungnoen of Thailand. He reached the quarterfinals.