Press Trust of India
Shillong, Feb 14: MC C Mary Kom led the charge as six Indian boxers stormed into the final with comprehensive wins to remain in hunt for all the 10 medals on offer at the 12th South Asian Games here Sunday.
On a comeback trail after recovering from an injury, the five-time World Champion Mary Kom’s 51kg category bout lasted less than 40 seconds as she was adjudged winner via TKO against her Bangladeshi opponent Shamina Akter. After Mary landed a flurry of punches at the start, the Bangladeshi just backed away to her corner and refused to fight.
If Mary stole the show in the afternoon session, Sarita Devi was the cynosure of the boisterous crowd in the evening and the Manipuri did not disappoint with an easy 3-0 unanimous win over Rana Saraswati of Nepal in 60kg.
Glasgow CWG silver medallist L Devendro Singh started the proceedings for India when he did well to dodge Thiwana Ranasinghe’s open hooks to win a tight first round 29-28. He won the next two rounds easily to be adjudged a 3-0 winner.
Shiva Thapa had a height disadvantage against Mohammad Ohiduzzaman of Bangladesh but the Assamese boxer did well to defend himself before landing some powerful jabs with a tactical gameplan that saw him win 3-0. He will take on W Ruwan Thilina of Sri Lanka in the gold medal fight Monday.
Vikas Krishan outclassed his Afghanistan opponent Folad S Wali Shah 3-0 in 75kg while Manoj Kumar (64kg) revailed over Tshering Wangchuk of Bhutan with an identical scoreline.
