Mary Kom in final, Shiva, Manoj upstaged in semis
Five-time world champion M C Mary Kom advanced to the final but Shiva Thapa and Manoj Kumar settled for bronze medals after upset semifinal losses in the India Open boxing tournament for men and women here today. Seeded 12th, Mary Kom (48kg) was up against a rather gritty Mongolian Altansetseg Lutsaikhan. Mary Kom will face Philippine’s Josie Gabuco who sent second seed and local favourite Monika packing with a dominating performance.
In the women’s draw, top seed L Sarita Devi (60kg) was up against fellow Indian Priyanka and in a bout fought on even keel, the former managed to get a split verdict in her favour. Sarita stood out for being a better power-puncher than her opponent and managed to connect a few telling blows to Priyanka’s torso. Sarita will face Finland’s Olympic and world bronze-medallist Mira Potkonen in her summit clash