Mary storms into final, Shiva, Manoj upstaged in semis

New Delhi, Five-time world champion MC 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 here today. Mary Kom (48kg) was up against a gritty Mongolian, Altansetseg Lutsaikhan. But the 12th seed gained the upper hand with her aggressive approach in the first two rounds. The Manipuri did seem drained in the final three minutes but managed to connect just enough blows to come up trumps.
In the final, Mary Kom will face Philippine’s Josie Gabuco, who sent second seed and local favourite Monika packing with a dominating performance.
Among the men, top seed Thapa (60kg) went down to Manish Kaushik. In an even contest of counterattacking boxing, Kaushik got the judges’ nod for being a bit better on accuracy. This was the World Championships medallist’s second loss to Kaushik after the Nationals final last year. “I am slightly faster than him. I managed to deceive him by counterattacking. He attacked more but I managed to dodge that,” said Kaushik, 21, who is employed with the Army. “It was an easier fight for me compared to the Nationals final,” the boxer from Bhiwani added.
Former Commonwealth Games gold medallist Manoj (69kg) lost to Dinesh in another fiercely contested bout.
Amit Panghal, top seed in light flyweight (49kg), advanced to the final after a split verdict over compatriot Nutlai Lalbiakimma.
K Shyam Kumar (49kg) and Satish Kumar (+91kg) also made the finals.
But Sumit Sangwan (91kg) sustained a cut during his semifinal clash and gave a walkover owing to his injury.
In the women’s draw, top seed L Sarita Devi (60kg) overcame Priyanka in a split verdict. Pinki Jangra (51kg) also entered the final after beating Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat.
However, top seed Shashi Chopra (57kg) was upstaged by Sonia in a rather bizarre contest in which both the boxers were cautioned for being too defensive.