Mary Kom, L Sarita Devi find places in Asian Boxing Championships squad
MC Mary Kom returned to her preferred 48kg category by passing the challenges posed by younger competitors and will be on the bus with the Indian team for Asian Women's Boxing Championship. The prestigious continental event will be held from November 2 to 11 in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
The Indian boxers went through grueling three-day trials in New Delhi, in which some of the aspirants even fought two bouts each day and finally, the veteran duo of Mary Kom and L Sarita Devi secured the places despite changing their weight categories. Five-time world champion Mary Kom will be making her sixth Asian Championships appearance this year.
The London Olympics medalist, who had announced her decision to shuffle between 48kg and 51kg categories at the end of last year, fought six bouts during the trials in the national capital, winning all despite facing younger rivals in the likes of World Championships silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi among others.
The 34-year-old has won five medals at the Asian Championship, with four of them being gold. But for the first-ever time, the lady from Manipur will play 48KG category – a category that fetched her two World Championship medals - in the regional meet.
35-year-old Sarita Devi, who has five Asian Championships medals, had recently turned herself a professional and won her debut bout as well, but decided to return to the amateur circuit after a few months. Now, the Manipuri girl has decided to jump a division from 60kg to 64kg.
Both Mary Kom and Sarita didn’t take part in the 2015 edition, in which India failed to secure a single gold medal. Apart from the duo, Haryana’s Neeraj (51kg), who won a gold medal at the Nation's Cup in Serbia earlier this year, will make a debut appearance at the Asian Championship.
World Championships' silver-medallist Sonia Lather (57kg) along with last Asian Championships' silver-medallist Saweety Boora (81g) made their way to the squad as well.
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