Shiva Thapa, Mary Kom enter semis of India Open
NEW DELHI : MC Mary Kom (49kg) and Shiva Thapa (60kg) were among the prominent names assured of medals as India continued to dominate the ring in the $100,000 India Open boxing tournament on Tuesday.
Seeded 12th, five-time world and Asian champion Mary Kom had no trouble in overwhelming compatriot K Bina Devi. The 35-year-old prevailed 5-0 in a lopsided contest, her nimble footwork standing out.
Also advancing with a hardfought win was L Sarita Devi (60kg) as home favourites enjoyed another stellar day and looked good to walk away with most of the medals.
STRONG INDIAN FIELD
NEW DELHI : PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will be among the favourites in men’s and women’s singles at the $350,000 India Open World Tour Super 500 starting here on Wednesday.
With the top-ranked shuttlers in the two categories, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen and Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu-Ying, skipping the tournament, expectations will be high from the Indians since they will play in front of the home crowd at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. Ying may have proved to be a tormentor for Saina Nehwal but the Indian believes the Taiwanese is not unbeatable and was confident of defeating her in future.
Tai Tzu, who clinched five titles last year, has defeated Saina nine times in last 10 meetings with only three of them going into a decider, albeit for a lost cause.