Ulan-Ude (Russia), Oct 12:
Debutant Manju Rani (48kg) was the lone Indian to enter the final, while six-time champion M C Mary kom (51kg) and two others signed off with bronze medals in the World Women’s Boxing Championships here today.
Sixth-seeded Rani defeated Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat 4-1 in her semifinal bout. She will take on second-seeded Russian Ekaterina Paltceva in the summit clash on Sunday.
However, Mary Kom, Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for bronze medals. In case of Borgohain, it was her second successive third-place finish.
Mary Kom, seeded third, lost 1-4 to second seed Busenaz Cakiroglu of Turkey who is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist. Boro went down 0-5 to top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist 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.
The Indian contingent sought a review of the decision in Mary Kom’s bout but the appeal was turned down by the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) technical committee. The rules mandate that the decision has to be either 3-2 or 3-1 for an appeal to be even accepted for consideration.
“I am very disappointed with the decision. I think I fought much better and did not deserve to lose but I will try to ensure that this setback helps me achieve bigger things,” Mary Kom said.
Rani, who hails from Haryana 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 final three minutes.
She rattled the Thai with her ferocious combination punches, piercing through her shell guard with forceful straight punches.
Mary Kom also 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 Kom had the edge in counter-attacks 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 final three minutes, both the boxers upped the ante but Cakiroglu got the judges’ nod. (PTI)
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