Sport - Boxing   

Good day for India

By Kirti Patil

HISAR (HARYANA) NOV. 21. World pinweight champion M.C. Mary Kom and flyweight bronze medallist Meena Kumari led nine Indians into the finals of the second Asian Women's boxing championship at the Mahabir Stadium here on Friday.

Mary Kom and Meena took to the ring and fought fiercely to claim their rightful place in the final. As did five others, Sushma Kumari, L. Sarita Devi, Asha Rani Devi, Jenny R.L. and Aruna Misra.

The host was cheerful as it confirmed medals in all the 13 weight categories. But, there is still a long way to go if India is looking to establish itself as a continental power. To be honest, limited entries across the board gave India the comfort of featuring in the nine finals.

Lack of entries in the higher weight categories meant that two Indians, middleweight boxer K.C. Lekha and Jyotshna, the bronze medallist at the 2002 World championship, got direct entry into the respective finals.

However, India received two reverses when light-fly Kanaka Durga and featherweight pugilist Aswathy Prabha lost to Chinese and North Korean opponents respectively.

Mary Kom looked a different boxer on Friday. There was a pinch of indifference on Wednesday when she fought in the first round, but semifinal brought out the best in her. Forcing L.G. Chandrika on the back-foot from the start with her aggressive action, Mary Kom landed a flurry of punches to further unsettle her Sri Lankan opponent.

The Indian displayed good reflexes to save wild blows thrown by Chandrika. As all looked lost for Chandrika, she tried to hold on to Mary Kom, forcing the referee to allot negative points, in the 46-kg bout.

After being battered in the first round, it remained just a formality for Chandrika to start the second. Mary Kom needed just a few seconds to outscore Chandrika. Mary Kom meets Chou Szu Yin of Chinese Taipei, in a re-match of their 2002 Antalya World championship battle.

In the 50kg semifinal, Meena Kumari was in a devastating mood. Meena pummelled Chinese Taipei's Lee Chi Man with a barrage of punches. Combining right and left to perfection, Meena left Lee struggling to control her balance. The referee gave her standing counts twice before the bout was stopped.

Meena meets Kim Kwang Ok of North Korea in the final on Saturday, Kim fought a close battle with Naoko Fujioka of Japan and won on points, 24-17.

A chance to display her skills in front of the home crowd was enough to boost Sushma Kumari. Taking on Li Bo of China, Sushma gave no opening to her opponent, in the 52kg semifinal. Hardly the Chinese had found her footing and Sushma swung into action and pounded right hooks effectively.

Sushma won by outscoring Li in the second round and now meets the defending champion Pak Kyok Ok of North Korea. Pak thrashed A. Yanase of Japan, winning in the first round itself.

In the 54kg, L. Sarita Devi outscored Chen Hsin Tzu of Chinese Taipei in the first round, as did Asha Rani Devi in the 60kg class. Asha Rani defeated Cho Jung Sook of South Korea.

The results (semifinals): 46kg: Chou Szu Yin (Tpe) bt Tang Pui Ka (Hkg) RSC (OS) 2nd; M.C. Mary Kom (Ind) bt L.G. Chandrika (Sri) RSC (OS) 2nd. 48kg: Se Yan Furong (Chn) bt Kanaka Durga (Ind) 37-29; Ri Jong Hyang (PRK) bt K.A.A. Dilrukshi (Sri) RSC (OC) 2nd. 50kg: Meena Kumari (Ind) bt Lee Chi Man (Tpe) RSC (CCL) 1st; Kim Kwang Ok (PRK) bt Naoko Fujioka (Jpn) 24-17. 52kg: Pak Kyok Ok (PRK) bt A. Yanase (Jpn) RSC (CCL) 1st; Sushma Kumari (Ind) bt Li Bo (Chn) RSC (OS) 2nd. 54kg: L. Sarita Devi (Ind) bt Chen Hsin Tzu (Tpe) RSC (OS) 1st; Ha Son Bi (PRK) bt Zhang Xiyan (Chn) 24-22. 57kg: Kim Hyo Min (Kor) bt A. Lama (Nep) RSC (OS) 2nd; Yun Kum Ju (PRK) bt Aswathy Prabha (Ind) 21-12. 60kg: Kang Kum Hui (PRK) bt Jin Shi (Chn) RSC (OS) 1st; Asha Rani Devi (Ind) bt Cho Jung Sook (Kor) RSC (OS) 1st. 63kg: Jenny R. L. (Ind) bt Tian Dan (Chn) 20-9; Kim Hye Yong (PRK) bt P.K.D. Sumudu (Sri) RSC (OS) 2nd. 66kg: Aruna Misra (Ind) bt Ri Jong Sim (PRK) RSC (OS) 2nd; Wang Xian (Chn) bt Lin Ya Ting Tpe) 19-9.

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