NEW DELHI: India’s Preeti made a sensational women’s World Championships debut, defeating the Romanian top seed Lacramioara Perijoc in a see-saw battle in front of a sizeable home crowd to sail into the pre-quarterfinals of the bantamweight category on Saturday.
Unseeded Preeti toppled World No. 2 Perijoc by 4-3 split decision to claim the biggest scalp of her nascent career in the 54kg division. The Romanian, the EUBC European Champion, had no answer to Preeti’s swift counter-attacks in the third and final period of the round of 32 bout, as the Asian Championships bronze medal-winning Indian punched above her weight to cause the biggest upset win for the host nation so far at the Worlds.
