Nainital: National Games bronze medallist A Punyavathi of Andhra Pradesh drubbed Ritu Ranga of Haryana in the light fly weight division in the “2011 N.C. Sharma Memorial Federation Cup Women’s Boxing Championship which got underway in Nainital on Thursday.

The 20-year-old boxer started off slow, but soon gathered pace in the second round to take the game away from Ranga. She went on to make her place in the semis with an 8:4 victory on points.

P Nirosha playing for Mizoram also secured a place in the round of four of the same weight class, with a victory over Mamta Devi representing the All India Police team. A silver medallist at the 2nd Inter-Zonal Women National Championship, Nirosha was down a two point deficit after the second round. But the beginning of the third saw the 19-year-old shift gears and overpower her opponent. She levelled the scores in the third and took a comprehensive lead in the fourth. Nirosh won 17:12 on points.

In the bantam weight category, silver medal winner at the 11th senior nationals last year, Geeta Solanki of Delhi edged past Pooja Pannu of Haryana. In what turned out to be a hard fought contest, Geeta managed to squeeze a one point lead in the third round after being down in the first two. She held on to the advantage in the fourth and secured an 8:7 win to make a place in the semis.

Brig PK Muralidharan Raja, Secretary General of the Indian Boxing Federation believes these tournaments plays a vital role in development of a boxer and are aimed at strengthening the level of boxing in the country. He said, “Federation Cup brings out the best teams in the nation and provides a heightened level of pugilism. It is a unique format that helps in the development of an athlete and also aids in identifying new crop of boxers”.