Lovlina & Neeraj clinch gold at Umakhanov Memorial boxing

New Delhi: Lovlina Borgohain and Neeraj clinched gold medals while Gaurav Solanki had to settle for a silver as Indian boxers ended their campaign with a rich haul at the Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament in Kaspiysk, Russia.

The Indian boxers fetched six medals at the tournament, including two golds, one silver and three bronze.

Reigning Asian Championships gold medallist Pooja Rani suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat against home favourite Anna Anfinogenova in the middleweight (75kg) semi-finals and had to be content with a bronze.

Govind Sahani (49Kg) and Jony (60Kg) also grabbed bronze medals after their semi-final losses. While Govind lost to Russia's Kurban Bayranbekov 1-4, Jony went down to Russia's Natalya Shadrina by a similar scoreline.Having had to taste a bitter 2-3 defeat at the hands of Assunta Canfora at the India Open final, World Championships bronze medallist, Lovlina (69kg) was better prepared this time to tackle the wily Italian.

The tall Assamese boxer was on guard throughout the bout and never shied away from raining down Canfora's flurry of punches to grab a narrow 3-2 win. After capturing the India Open silver and a bronze from the Strandja Cup, Lovlina's efforts and dedication have been rewarded with her first international gold medal of the year.

India Open gold medallist champion Neeraj (57kg), who had caused a big upset in the semi-finals by stunning former world champion Alessia Mesiano 3-2, continued her impeccable form in the

summit clash against Russia's Shakhidova.