Haryana defeat Punjab in SBL tie

Haryana Warriors defeated Punjab Sultans 15-6 in a Super Boxing League (SBL) encounter at the Siri Fort Stadium here on Sunday.

Haryana Warriors' Sandeep Bhagri, Parmod Kumar, Anita Kumari and Sukhdeep Singh were all winners in their respective categories.

Sagar Narwat and Sumit Rangi were the only Punjab boxers who won their respective bouts.

Punjab Sultans were high on confidence before the match as they had won their previous match against UP Terminators.

Haryana had lost their first game against Delhi Gladiators on the opening night of the league. Therefore, it was important for the Warriors to make a statement and win their second match of Super Boxing League to stay in contention for a semi-final spot.

In the first fight of the day, Warriors' Sandeep Bhagri defeated Sultans' skipper Amandeep Singh in the Feather Weight category.

It was now upto Punjab Sultans' Nikhal Bhatt to cut short the lead for his team as he faced Haryana Warriors' Parmod Kumar in the Welter Weight category.

However, Kumar had other plans in mind as he maintained his team's grip on the proceedings as he won by knock out.

Kumar had replaced injured Warriors' skipper Neeraj Goyat and he performed excellently to extend Haryana Warriors' lead to nine points.

The third fight saw Super Boxing League's women in action as Haryana Warriors' Anita Kumari took on OPM Punjab Sultans' Saroj Bugalia in the female Fly Weight category.

Warriors' Kumari did not disappoint her team as she won by unanimous decision, extending Haryana Warriors' lead to 12 points after three bouts.

Sagar Narwat pulled one back for Punjab Sultans by defeating Haryana Warriors' Sandeep Nain by split decision to open his team's account on the night.

The fifth fight of the night was between Haryana Warriors' Sukhdeep Singh and Punjab Sultans' Manohar Basnet in the Super Middle Weight category. It was an important bout for both the teams as a win for either boxer would decide the final outcome of the match.

Sukhdeep won by unanimous decision which saw the Haryana Warriors lead Punjab Sultans 15-3, meaning that they had secured victory on the night.

The last fight of the night was a mere formality as Haryana Warriors had already won the tie. In the Heavy Weight category, Punjab Sultans were represented by Sumit Rangi and Haryana Warriors were represented by Arminder Singh.

Rangi got a consolation win for the Sultans winning by unanimous decision as Haryana took a 15-6 victory.

--IANS

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