Asian Games: Boxer Preeti Pawar settles for bronze after defeat against Chang Yuan in semi-final

Pugglist Preeti Pawar has finished her campaign in the 54 kg weight category with a loss in the semi-final and has settled for a bronze.

Hangzhou: Young boxer Preeti Pawar's dreams of fetching gold in the 54kg weight category during the ongoing Asian Games were crushed here on Tuesday with a loss against Chang Yuan of China.

The assured bronze was supposed to instill some confidence in the Indian boxer but she started the bout in a disappointing manner. The Chinese boxer had the upper hand right from the beginning in the first round as she impressed the judges. She sealed the round with a left hook on Preeti's face. As a result, the first round was rewarded to Chang Yuan with a split decision of 4-1.

• BRONZE FOR PREETI🥉
  
  🇮🇳's Preeti clinches the Bronze🥉 after going down in a hard-fought semifinal bout at the #AsianGames2022 in 54kg Weight Category 💥🥊
  
  With this medal, the Bronze 🥉 count of India stands at 2️⃣5️⃣ currently
  
  Well done, champ✅#Cheer4India#JeetegaBharat… pic.twitter.com/W4vVR72X09

  — SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 3, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  BRONZE FOR PREETI🥉
  
  🇮🇳's Preeti clinches the Bronze🥉 after going down in a hard-fought semifinal bout at the #AsianGames2022 in 54kg Weight Category 💥🥊
  
  With this medal, the Bronze 🥉 count of India stands at 2️⃣5️⃣ currently
  
  Well done, champ✅#Cheer4India#JeetegaBharat… pic.twitter.com/W4vVR72X09

  — SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 3, 2023

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  BRONZE FOR PREETI🥉
  
  🇮🇳's Preeti clinches the Bronze🥉 after going down in a hard-fought semifinal bout at the #AsianGames2022 in 54kg Weight Category 💥🥊
  
  With this medal, the Bronze 🥉 count of India stands at 2️⃣5️⃣ currently
  
  Well done, champ✅#Cheer4India#JeetegaBharat… pic.twitter.com/W4vVR72X09

  — SAI Media (@Media_SAI) October 3, 2023

The second round was a do-or-die affair for the boxer from Maharashtra as losing it would have faded away her chances of grabbing a ticket to the final. At the start of the round, Preeti landed some soft punches and went on the defensive. She further landed a straight jab on Chang's face which triggered her opponent to unleash an attacking mode. However, her exploits in the bouts impressed judges and three of them ruled the round in her favour.

Preeti switched on her aggression soon and executed a few combination punches. Further, she hit a brutal upper-cut but it failed to impress the judges as her Chinese opponent left more impact. Chang won the fixture on the basis of points and Preeti's dreams of conquering the title at the Asian Games came to an end.