Mary Kom, four others enter Asian Boxing Championships finals
The Olympic-bound MC Mary Kom (51kg) and two-time youth world champion Sakshi (54kg) were among four Indian women boxers who stormed into the Asian Boxing Championships finals after notching up exciting victories while Pooja Rani (75kg) got a walkover in Dubai on Thursday. While six-time world champion Mary Kom prevailed 4-1 over Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg, Sakshi upstaged top-seeded Kazakh Dina Zholaman 3-2.
Lalbuatsaihi's Kuwaiti competitor conceded the bout
It was a memorable tournament debut for Lalbuatsaihi (64kg), who outboxed Noura Almutairi of Kuwait to such an extent that she decided to concede the bout in the second round. Next up for the boxer from Nagaland is Milana Safronova of Kazakhstan.
Rani's opponent pulled out without specifying the reason
The defending champion Rani got a walkover into the finals after her Mongolian opponent Munkhbat Myagmarjargal pulled out without specifying the reasons. "We got to know a couple of hours before the bout that her opponent has pulled out. The reasons were not told to us," Indian Women's Boxing's High-Performance Director Raffaele Bergamasco said.
Four boxers had to settle for a bronze
Meanwhile, Indian boxer Anupama (+81kg), defeated Uzbekistan's Mokhira Abdullaeva in a split decision. However, the Tokyo-bound duo of Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) along with Monika (48kg) and debutant Jasmine (57kg) settled for bronze medals after losing their respective semifinal bouts.
Kazakhstan handed out defeats to four Indians
Saweety Boora (81 kg) also ended with a bronze medal after losing to Kazakhstan's Fariza Sholtay. Monika went down 0-5 to second-seeded Kazakhstan's Alua Balkibekova, while Jasmine too was defeated in a unanimous verdict by Kazakhstan's Vladislava Kukhta. Recently COVID-19 recovered Kaur, lost to Kazakhstan's Rimma Volossenko, in a unanimous verdict. Borgohain was beaten by Navabakhor Khamidova of Uzbekistan in a split decision.
Mary Kom aiming for her sixth gold medal
In contrast, due to her reservoir of experience, Mary Kom defeated the sprightly Altantsetseg. The 38-year-old will now be gunning for her sixth gold medal at the continental showpiece. She will be up against Kazakhstan's two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay. "I have faced Kyzaibay earlier and have even defeated her in a couple of past tournaments," said Mary Kom.
Five Indian male boxers will compete in semi-finals on Friday
Meanwhile, on Wednesday night, the Olympic-bound Ashish Kumar (75kg) lost 2-3 to Asian Games silver-medalist Abilkhan Amankul of Kazakhstan in the quarterfinal. Also going down in the quarters was Narender (+91kg), who 0-5 to Kazakhstan's Kamshibek Kunkabayev. On Friday, five Indian men—Amit Panghal (52kg), Varinder Singh (60kg), Shiva Thapa (64kg), Vikas Krishan (69kg), and Sanjeet (91kg)— will fight it out in the semifinals.
