India's Sakshi Chaudhary defeated Philippines Aria Villegas in 51kg category
She moved down from 54kgs to 51kgs earlier this year and won gold at 2026 Commonwealth Games
She will now play in pre quarterfinals
Indian boxer Sakshi Chaudhary pulled off an upset by out-punching Paris Olympics bronze-medallist Aira Villegas of the Philippines 5-0 to storm into the women's 51kg pre-quarterfinals at the Asian Games here at Nishio Gymnasium on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old Bhiwani boxer used her height advantage and long reach quite well to keep Villegas at bay from the outset.
After a cagey start by both boxers, Sakshi employed the jab to control the proceedings throughout the round-of-32 bout.
She upped the tempo in the second round, unleashing a flurry of punches as Villegas struggled to cope with her pace and movement.
The Filipino southpaw landed a couple of stinging left hooks on the counter and threw a flurry of punches in the final round, but it was too little too late as all five judges awarded Sakshi a perfect 10 in every round.
Sakshi's win continues her impressive run in the 51kg category.
She moved down from 54kg in May and defeated two-time world champion and previous edition's bronze-medallist Nikhat Zareen in the selection trial.
A former junior and youth world champion, Sakshi went on to win gold at the Commonwealth Games last month.
Later in the day, CWG silver-medallist Jadumani Singh (55kg) will begin his campaign against Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Thapa.
