Manisha, Mary Kom enter quarters, Sarita bows out
WORLD BOXING The 20yearold beats world champ with 50 verdict, senior pro too eases through NEWDELHI:
In what is the biggest upset of the tournament so far, 20-year-old Manisha Moun stunned world champion Dina Zholaman of Kazakhstan with a unanimous (5-0) verdict to enter the 54kg quarter-finals of the Women’s World Boxing Championships on Sunday.
MC Mary Kom too advanced to the last-eight stage by taming Aigerim Kassenayeva of Kazakhstan in the 48kg bout with a 5-0 verdict but Sarita Devi went down 3-2 to Ireland’s Kellie Harrington in the 60 kg category.
It was yet another gutsy performance by 20-year-old Manisha, who had beaten Zholaman in the Silesian Open tournament recently. Against an opponent who was quick and showed explosive speed, Manisha mixed caution with aggression.
The first round was pretty close but Manisha stepped up brilliantly in the next two, using her height to advantage against the short Zholaman in landing some clear punches. The Indian also impressed with her defence.
“I do not enter the ring seeing the reputation of my opponent. When I defeated her for the first time in Poland, I did not know that she was a world champion. That bout helped to gauge her style. I was fast and attacking today while maintaining a safe distance from her as the coaches had instructed me,” said Manisha
The bantamweight category boxer has got one of the toughest draws of the tournament but she is unfazed. Manisha will have an equally tough opponent in the next round as she meets top seed Stoyka Zhelyazkova of Bulgaria, the reigning silver medallist in the category.
SHOWING OLD SPARK
Mary Kom entered the arena to a thunderous applause and left the spectators in awe of her brilliance. The five-time world champion showed old spark as she defeated Kassenayeva to enter the quarterfinals.
At 35, Mary Kom has shown no signs of slowing down. Against the Kazakh girl, Mary’s reflexes were sharp, footwork nimble and her punches packed brutal power.
Always on her toes, she moved around the ring effortlessly. She teased her opponent, was quick to evade her attacks, and countered with precision. The powerful right hooks crashed into Kassenayeva’s guard several times. Kassenayeva had lost to Mary in the Silesian Open tournament. Chants of ‘Mary Kom, Mary Kom’ reverberated as she went about her business, and later thanked everyone for the support.
EYEING SIXTH GOLD
Mary is gunning for her sixth gold medal, her second at home. She could not have made a better start. The Manipuri will next face Chinese Wu Yu in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
“There is a lot of pressure on me to win another gold at home but I am enjoying boxing now. I love my fans. It is the years of hard work and experience that I put in the ring. I will give my best to win here,’ said Mary Kom.
Later in the evening, India suffered their first loss with seasoned Sarita Devi going down to Harrington in a split decision in the lightweight (60kg) category in pre-quarter-finals.
Sarita was clearly unhappy with the decision. “I thought I had an upper hand in all three rounds,” she said.
LOVLINA WINS
The girls from Assam — Lovlina Borgohain and Bhagyabati Kachari — gave an equally enthralling performances to win their opening bouts.
Lovlina defeated Panama’s Atheyna Bylon 5-0 in the welterweight (69kg) coming through a tough physical bout.
Lovlina, who got a bye in the first round, reached the quarter-finals. “It was tough. My opponent was tall and strong and the physical work out that we have been doing helped me to keep going,’ she said.
Bhagyabati Kachari got the better of Irina-Nicoletta Schonberger of Germany in a split decision 4-1 in 81kg.