In the India Open boxing tournament, five-time world champion M C Mary Kom advanced to the final but Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumar settled for bronze medals after upset semifinal losses in New Delhi today.Seeded 12th, Mary Kom defeated a rather gritty Mongolian Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the 48 kilogram category. Mary Kom will now face Philippine's Josie Gabuco who sent second seed and local favourite Monika packing with a dominating performance.However, there was a major upset in the men's draw when world and Asian medalist Shiva seeded top in the 60 kilogram category, settled for a bronze after going down in a unanimous verdict to fellow Indian Manish Kaushik.Former Commonwealth Games gold-medalist Manoj Kumar also made a shock exit in 69 kilogram after going down in a split decision to compatriot Dinesh in another fiercely-contested bout.In contrast, Asian bronze-medallist and light flyweight category, top-seed Amit Panghal advanced to the final after a split verdict over compatriot Nutlai Lalbiakimma.Three-time King's Cup gold-medallist K Shyam Kumar (49kg), and Asian Games bronze-medalist Satish Kumar (+91kg) also made the finals.In the women's draw, top seed L Sarita Devi (60kg) was up against fellow Indian Priyanka and in a bout fought on even keel, the former managed to get a split verdict in her favour.Commonwealth Games bronze-medalist Pinki Jangra (51kg) also entered the final, beating Thailand's Chuthamat Raksat. Also ending with a bronze medal was former world silver- winner Sarjubala Devi (51kg).
News On AIR | January 31, 2018 8:51 PM
M C Mary Kom advances to final of India Open boxing tournament