India Open Boxing : Mary Kom advances to final whereas Shiva loses in semis
Indian boxing stars enjoyed a mixed day at the ongoing India Open Boxing Tournament in New Delhi as Mary Kom advanced to the final in the 48 kg category. However, the biggest upset of the day was of Shiva Thapa who had to settle for a bronze medal after losing to Manish Kaushik in the semis.
12th seeded Mary Kom advanced to the finals of the 48 kg category after defeating Mongolian boxer Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the semis. The Mongolian was already on the back foot due to the Manipuri boxer’s aggressive approach in the first two rounds and although Kom seemed to be drained out in the final three minutes, she managed to connect enough blows to win the match. Mary Kom will now face Philippine’s Josie Gabuco who had earlier defeated the local favorite Monika packing in the other semifinal.
The biggest upset of the day came when top-seeded Shiva Thapa was defeated by the fellow Indian Manish Kaushik in the semifinals but eventually won a bronze medal in the 60 kg category. In the other results, top seed L Sarita Devi (60kg) defeated fellow Indian Priyanka in an evenly matched bout. Sarita will now face Finland’s Olympic and world bronze-medallist Mira Potkonen in her summit clash.
“She hits very hard, her punches have a lot of power. I have to primarily guard against that,” PTI quoted Sarita.
Potkonen defeated second seed and home favourite Pavithra in her last-four stage clash. World youth champion and top seed Shashi Chopra (57kg) was thrashed by compatriot Sonia in a match in which both the boxers were cautioned to be too defensive. Eventually, Sonia prevailed for being more aggressive than her opponent and will now face Filipino Nesthy Petecio in the final.
Former world silver medalist Sarjubala Devi lost to Mongolian Jargalan Ochirbat 3-2 in her bout. National champion and second-seeded Simranjit Kaur was beaten by Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee in her semi final match and she too had to settle for a bronze.
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