New Delhi: MC Mary Kom advanced to the final but Shiva Thapa settled for a bronze medal after an upset semifinal loss in the India Open boxing tournament for men and women here, Wednesday.
Seeded 12th, Mary Kom (48kg) was up against a rather gritty Mongolian Altansetseg Lutsaikhan. But the five-time World and Asian champion gained the upper hand with her aggressive approach in the first two rounds. The Manipuri did seem drained in the final three minutes but managed to connect just enough blows to come up trumps.
Mary Kom will face Philippine’s Josie Gabuco who sent second seed and local favourite Monika packing with a dominating performance.
However, more stunning drama was to follow when World and Asian medallist Shiva (60kg), seeded top in his category, went down in a unanimous verdict to compatriot Manish Kaushik. This was Shiva’s second loss to Manish after the national championships final last year.
Among others light flyweight (49kg) top seed Amit Panghal advanced to the final after a split verdict over compatriot Nutlai Lalbiakimma while L Sarita Devi (women’s 60kg) beat compatriot Priyanka alo by a split verdict in her favour.
Sarita stood out for being a better power-puncher than her opponent and managed to connect a few telling blows to Priyanka’s torso in the crucial third round.
The most bizarre bout of the day occurred between world youth champion and top seed Shashi Chopra (57kg) and compatriot Sonia. Both boxers ended up being cautioned for being too defensive. Eventually Sonia prevailed in a unanimous verdict for perhaps being a shade more attacking and accurate than Shashi.
Press Trust of India
