SHE had defeated Lazzat Kungeibayeva of Kazakhastan on her senior debut earlier this year to clinch the gold medal at the Elorda Cup, Kazakhstan in July 2022.

Indian boxer Alfiya Pathan continued in same vein to beat the same rival again within four months as she stormed into the final of the ongoing ASBC Asian Women’s & Men’s Elite Boxing Championships being played at Amman in Jordan, on Wednesday. She will take on Jordan’s Islam Husaili in the final.

The fast rising Indian boxer had made her senior debut in style with a stunning 5-0 win over 2016 world champion Lazzat. Alfiya was again at her brutal best as she once again dominated her 81+kg semi-final bout to secure a spot in the final with a 5-0 unanimous verdict. Nagpur’s Alfiya thus confirmed at least a silver medal for India. “Yes, I was confident enough that I will defeat her again,” Alfiya told ‘The Hitavada’ from Amman in Jordan after her bout.

Known for being as one of the most fierce boxers, Alfiya, playing from the red corner, took little time to get over her much-heavier looking rival and landed punches at the right spot. She took the first round 50-45 despite fumbling initially, but was on her feat immediately.

The second round, too, was completely dominated by the Nagpur girl sweeping it 50-45 (100-90).

In the third round, the left-handed pugilist, used her experience and consumed time instead of going all over her Kazakhastan rival. Kazakhastan’s Lazzat did tried hard to gain upperhand in the final few seconds, but Alfiya was too clever to avoid her opponents’ punches.

Alfiya, who is trained by NIS coach Ganesh Purohit at Nagpur’s Divisional Sports Complex in Mankapur, said that the planning was same as last time but she could play the way she wanted. “This time, the plan was same but it was like (I wanted) to show my game more but it did not go like I was thinking. But I am pretty sure that in my final I will do what I want to,” she assured.  Alfiya will take on Islam Husaili of Jordan in final and said she would focus on things she could not do in her earlier bout. “I will be going to play against the Jordan’s Islam and will be more focusing on the things that I was unable to do in the ring in my semis bout,” she said.