Dubai, May 30: Defending champion Pooja Rani (75kg) was the lone Indian woman boxer to strike gold at the Asian Championships while three others, including six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), signed off with silver medals here on Sunday.
The Olympic-bound Pooja (75 kg), who was competing in her first bout of the tournament after getting a bye and a walkover earlier, dismantled Mavluda Movlonova of Uzbekistan with a clinical performance. She also earned USD 10,000 for her marvellous one-bout show in which Movlonova was simply out of sorts, unable to keep pace with the Indian’s intensity.
However, six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg), and tournament debutants Lalbuatsaihi (64kg) and Anupama (81+kg) ended with second place finishes. All three lost tightly-contested bouts and fetched themselves a prize money of USD 5,000 along with the silver medals.
Olympic-bound Mary Kom went down in a split 2-3 verdict to Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan. It was the Manipuri superstar’s seventh medal in the tournament, the first being a gold that came way back in the 2003 edition.
Lalbuatsaihi lost 2-3 as well but after giving her Kazakh rival Milana Safronova a fight to remember.
Anupama was the last to take the ring against former world champion Lazzat Kungeibayeva of Kazakhstan, losing 3-2.
On Monday, Amit Panghal will take on reigning Olympic and world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan while Shiva Thapa will be up against Mongolia’s Baatarsukh Chinzorig. Sanjeet will take on Kazakh’s Vassiliy Levit. (PTI)
