Albena: 14-year-old junior boxer Asha Roka (48kg) powered through to the semi-finals of the AIBA Women's Junior World Boxing Championships in Albena, Bulgaria on Wednesday. The reigning national champion was the first Indian to make it to the penultimate round of the Championship, after seven other Indian boxers – including three from the Junior Group and four from the Youth Group – secured their place in the quarter-finals of the event.

Roka a gold medallist at the 2nd Nations Cup, an International Boxing Tournament in Zrenjanun, Serbia made her place in the quarters beating Osormaa Sarantsetseg from Mongolia. The light fly weight boxer from Madhya Pradesh was at her superlative best as she devoured the Mongolian boxers by virtue of a unanimous decision from the Judges.

In the round of eight she locked horns with Malika Abdi from Algeria. The Algerian boxer threw some good straight punches in the beginning of the bout, but Asha came back strongly giving a good account of her boxing skills to edge past Abdi in brilliant fashion. In the semi-finals she takes on Assyl Askarova from Kazakhstan.