Women boxers win historic gold, Amit too clinches top spot
Asian Games goldmedallist Amit Panghal (49kg) on Tuesday claimed a second successive gold at the Strandja Memorial Tournament, in which India’s women boxers also scripted history with a couple of maiden top finishes in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Armyman from Haryana pulled off a dominating 5-0 triumph over Kazakhstan’s Temirtas Zhussupov, who was left with a bleeding forehead.
Former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen and Meena Kumari Devi became the first set of Indian women boxers to win gold medals at the prestigious tournament, which is into its 70th edition. In all, India signed off with three gold, a silver, and three bronze medals in this edition of the event, which marks the beginning of the European boxing calendar.
Zareen, a multiple national medallist, claimed a 5-0 win in the 51kg category finals against Filipino Irish Magno, while Devi got the better of Aira Villegas 3-2, also from the Philippines, in the bantamweight (54kg) summit clash.
The previous best by an Indian woman boxer at the event was the silver won by the legendary M C Mary Kom last year. “I dedicate this medal to the martyrs of the Pulwama terror attack. It was a very sad day for us as a country,” Zareen said later, referring to last week’s terrorist attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in J&K. However, Manju Rani (48kg) settled for a silver after going down to another Filipino in Josie Gabuco in a split 2-3 verdict.
CALICUT ENTER FINAL
CHENNAI: Calicut Heroes defeated U Mumba Volley in straight sets 15-12,15-9,16-14 to become the first team to reach the final of the Pro Volleyball League. Skipper Jerome Vinith led the scoring for Calicut with 12 points (10 spikes and 2 serves) whereas Vinit Kumar was the leading scorer for U Mumba with 7 points (4 spikes and 3 blocks).
INDONESIA SUBMITS BID TO HOST 2032 OLYMPIC
JAKARTA: Indonesia has submitted a bid to host the 2032 Olympics, the state news agency said on Tuesday, after winning praise for hosting last year’s Asian Games, though it could face competition from India and a joint bid by North and South Korea.
Indonesia’s ambassador to Switzerland submitted a letter from President Joko Widodo to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week.
“The IOC has acknowledged Indonesia’s capabilities during the Asian Games and Asian Paragames of 2018,” the Antara news agency quoted Ambassador Muliaman D. Hadad as saying.