Priya Ghanghas knows the feeling of trailing after the first round. In her senior career so far, the 20-year-old Haryana boxer has had her share of bouts that began that way.

On Monday, in the women’s 60kg quarter-final at the Asian Games, against Tajikistan’s Mijgona Samadova, it happened again, and a medal depended on how she answered. She answered with a unanimous 5-0 win, which guaranteed her a medal and took her into the semi-finals.

Samadova is a southpaw, and in the opening minute she showed a strong right lead punch and a right hook. Ghanghas was left catching up with her speed. Her jab failed to land early, so she changed her approach, throwing it in combination with a right straight and pushing Samadova towards the ropes. The round still went 2-3 to the Tajik.

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The second round turned. Ghanghas’s pressure had Samadova trying to come in close and hold, and she lost a point for it. The Indian took the round. In the third, Samadova looked tired, and Ghanghas kept working with combinations and speed.

Santiago Nieva, India’s women’s foreign head coach, told from Japan: “We knew that the Tajik boxer would be a bit tricky being a southpaw and having a good lead punch as well as a lead hook. She neutralised Priya’s jab initially but then Priya gained some momentum in the later half of the first round with the combinations.

“Yes, it was 2-3 decision after the first round, but we focussed on how she can build more attacks and can still catch up. Sometimes, Priya ends some time against taller or southpaw boxers and with such boxers coming at a fast pace, the first round can be a mixed round in terms of scoring. But then like CWG, Priya planned her punches and landed them clearly. She can box on her back foot in between and go for counters and apply high intensity pressure, which she did today in the last two rounds.”

It was one of three Indian wins on the day. Earlier, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain beat South Korea’s Seong Suyeon 5-0 in the women’s 75kg quarter-finals, and in the evening session Kapil Pokhriya beat Korea’s Kim Gi-chae by the same margin in the men’s 90kg. India are now assured of six boxing medals in Japan.

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Ghanghas, the Commonwealth Games champion, next meets China’s Chengyu Yang in the semi-finals. She has beaten Yang before, in the quarter-finals of the Asian Championships on her way to the title earlier this year. Yang arrives with a fresh reputation after beating Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines, the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist and Paris Olympics bronze medallist, 5-0.

Nieva believes the Indian has the edge. “The Chinese showed a lot of improvement as compared to the way she boxed in Asian Championships,” he said. “Priya has a very good left hook as well jumping left hook and the variations can come handy in applying pressure on the Chinese. Her strength has been her belief in close bouts.”