SBL: North East Tigers clinch top spot in Group B

North East Tigers defeated Maratha Yoddhas 11-8 in their last league match of Group B of the Super Boxing League (SBL) at the Siri Fort Squash & Badminton Stadium on Sunday.

It was Zoengmawia, Asha Roka, and Jitender Nandal who had given North East Tigers a 10-7 lead after five bouts as Basant Thapa and Ashish Ahlawat drew their bouts. Deepak Tanwar got a Knock Out victory for his side as Mahesh Digari and Parminder Singh also managed to draw their respective bouts which meant that the North East Tigers won the match 11-8.

The first bout of the night was between Satnam Singh from the Maratha Yoddhas and Zoengmawia from the North East Tigers in the Feather Weight category. The boxer from the North East Tigers, Zoengmawia started the bout strongly as he threw some good combinations on his opponent in Round 1 & 2 to set the rhythm for his team.

Maratha Yoddhas' Satnam Singh also impressed in Round 3 as he was looking to hit the youngster Zoengmawia on the counter. Round 4 saw Zoengmawia keep up his good work as he threw some nasty punches to seal the match by Unanimous Decision to give the North East Tigers a 3-0 lead.

In the second bout of the night, it was up to Maratha Yoddhas' Mahesh Digari to cut down the lead for his team as he faced Basant Thapa from the North East Tigers in the Welter Weight category.

Both the boxers started Round 1 with some good energy as they tried hitting each other on the counter; and both of them landed some huge blows. Round 2 & 3 were equally spread between the two pugilists as they both hit each other with some beautiful combinations, uppercuts and jabs.

Neither of the boxers gave up the fight as they hit each other with some flurry of punches to make it a difficult fight to judge for the referees. In the end, the bout ended in a Draw as both teams were awarded a point each to make it 3-1 in Tigers' favour.

The next bout was the most exciting one of the night as North East Tigers' Asha Roka faced Maratha Yoddhas' Luxmi in the Super Fly category. It was Tigers' skipper Asha Roka who started the bout on the front foot by smacking some beautiful combinations on Luxmi. The latter seemed to have lost some composure in Round 2 as Roka continued her form.

Round 3 & 4 were dominated again by Asha Roka as she got into a good rhythm but Luxmi held on to last all the four Rounds and did not get Knocked Out. At the end of four Rounds, it was Asha Roka who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to get the three points for her team as the scores read 7-1 in Tigers' favour.

In the fourth fight of the night, it was upto Maratha Yoddhas' skipper Deepak Tanwar to bring his team back into the match as he faced North East Tigers' Ankit Janghu in the Middle Weight category. And Deepak Tanwar did not disappoint his team and his fans as he started the fight aggressively and was looking for a Knock Out.

He maintained a good speed and thrust in the first two Rounds to push debutant Ankit Janghu on the back foot. Tanwar got into a great rhythm by Round 3 and he made the most of it by Knocking Out Janghu to win the bout by Knock Out to equalise the scores on the night 7-7.

In the fifth bout, it was North East Tigers' Vivek Jangra who faced Maratha Yoddhas' Jitender Nandal in the Super Middle Weight category. It was an important bout for both the teams as a win for either team would put them into the lead.

It was Tigers' Nandal who started the bout confidently as he aimed to get the top spot in the Group for his team. The Tigers' man took an aggressive approach, which saw him dominate most of the fight with some amazing combinations. At the end of four Rounds, it was Jitender Nandal who was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the lead to his side North East Tigers 10-7.

In the deciding bout of the night, it was Maratha Yoddhas' Parminder Singh who was up against North East Tigers' Ashish Ahlawat in the Heavy Weight category. Tigers' Ahlawat started the fight strongly in Round 1 & 2 as he hit a flurry of punches on Singh. But Yoddhas' Parminder Singh fought through the bout even though he was bleeding heavily after a punch caught him on his head.

Singh made a comeback into the bout and dominated the third and fourth Rounds to take the upper hand as Ahlawat struggled. In the end, both the boxers were awarded a point each as the bout finished in a Draw to make the scoreline 11-8 in favour of the North East Tigers.

-ANI