Rohtak’s Manju in final; Mary Kom, 2 others get bronze

Ulan-Ude (Russia), October 12

Haryana boxer Manju Rani (48kg) was the lone Indian to enter the final, while MC Mary Kom (51kg) and two others signed off with bronze medals in the women’s World Championships.

Sixth-seeded Rani defeated Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat 4-1. The Rohtak girl will take on second-seeded Russian Ekaterina Paltceva in the summit clash on Sunday. “I had fought this Thai girl earlier too, so that experience came in handy. This is the biggest win of my career so far and I am very, very happy,” Rani said, referring to her earlier fight against Raksat.

However, Mary Kom, Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for bronze. In case of Borgohain, it was her second successive third-place finish. Mary Kom lost 1-4 to second seed Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey. Boro went down 0-5 to top seed Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei. Borgohain (69kg) squared off against China’s Yang Liu and was beaten 2-3 in a hard-fought bout.

Mary Kom was very unhappy with the decision against her, and the Indian contingent sought reviews of the decisions against her and Borgohain. But the appeals were turned down by the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) technical committee. “I am very disappointed with the decision. I think I fought much better and didn’t deserve to lose but I will try to ensure that this setback helps me achieve bigger things,” Mary Kom said. 

Counter-puncher

Rani, who hails from Rithal village near Rohtak and made the national camp only this year, put up a gutsy show against the more muscular Raksat. Relying on counter-attacks in the first two rounds, the Strandja Memorial silver medallist went on the offensive in the last three minutes. She rattled the Thai with her ferocious combination punches, piercing through her shell guard with forceful straight punches.

Mary’s loss

Mary Kom fought a tactically sound bout but was edged out by the Turk in a split verdict. Both the boxers seemed hesitant to make the first move in the opening round but Mary had the edge in counterattacks as Cakiroglu struggled to make her height advantage count. The second round followed a similar pattern as far as the tactics went and although it was close, the judges ruled in the Turk’s favour in a split call.

In the last three minutes, both the boxers upped the ante but Cakiroglu got the judges’ nod. What may have worked against her was the fact that she touched the floor with her left glove after she went off balance. “Mary fought exceptionally well and should have won the bout. We are still quite stunned that the decision did not go in her favour,” India’s assistant coach Chhote Lal Yadav said. — PTI