Asian Boxing: Eight Indians including Marykom in semis

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: MC Marykom defeated Nandinsetseg Myagmardul of Mongolia on points 14:11 to enter the semi-finals of 6th Asian Women Boxing Championships here on Thursday.

It was indeed a tough bout for Marykom as the Mongolian boxers with good crowd support was attacking quite well. At the end of Round 1, Marykom was down by two points and the score was 2:4 in favour of the Mongolian. Although Marykom did catch up in round two she still trailed by a solitary point and was down by 7:8.

However in Round 3 , with sound advice from her Coach Anoop Kumar in the corner, Mary changed her mode of attack and started scoring with combination punches. Her good footwork combined with sharp punches got her the lead in Round 3 which ended at 11:9 in her favour. In Round 4, Mary was her usual composed and confident self and she increased the lead to win on points at 14:11. She will now meet Alice Kate Aparri of Phillipines in the semi finals on 24 March 2012.

In 57 kgs, Mandakini Chanu lost to Kil Ok Kim of Peoples Republic of Korea on points 17:31 although she was leading by 7:6 pts at the end of Round 1. However from Round 2 onwards the PRK boxer with her better reach due to height advantage and excellent movements got the better of Mandakini and scored well to win.

In the 69 kgs, Monica Saun defeated Moldir Bazarbayeva of Kazakhstan on points 16:14. It was indeed a close bout as Monica was trailing by 2:3 points at the end of Round 1. In Round 2 once Monica started attacking, the Kazakh girl went on the defensive and Monica was in the lead by 9:7 pts. However in Round 3 the Kazakh boxer came back strongly and equaled at a score of 11:11 pts. In Round 4, Monica was into the attack right from the moment the bell was rung and that earned her crucial points to win at 16:14 pts. She will now meet Dapana Durage Shiromali of Sri Lanka in the semi-finals.

In the 75 kgs, Pooja Rani comprehensively defeated Undram Erdenesoyol of Mongolia on points 28:6. At the end of Round 1, Pooja was leading on points 8:2. By the end of Round 2 it was 13:4 which became 19:5 by the end of Round 3 and ended up at 28:6 at the end of the bout in Round 4. Her opponent in the semifinals will be Su Rim Paek of Peoples Republic of Korea (PRK).

In addition to the above three boxers the others who are now in the semi-finals include Pinki Jangra (48 kgs), Sonia Lather 54 kgs, Sarita Devi (60 kgs), Bhagyabati Kachari (81 kgs) & Kavita Chahal (85 kgs).