Indian boxer Mary Kom finished her ASBC Asian Boxing Championships campaign with a silver medal after losing to the two-time world champion Nazym Kyzaibay in a high-voltage 51kg summit clash in Dubai on Sunday.
Both the pugilists started the final with attacking mindset and soon landed power packed blows to unsettle each other. The seasoned Indian Boxer used all her experience against the Kazakh pugilist but it didn't prove to be enough as the latter pulled the hard-fought clash successfully in her favour and emerged victorious with a close 29-28, 28-29, 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 scoreline.
It is the second silver medal for Mary Kom at the Asian Championships who has previously won titles five times—2003, 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2017 and a silver in 2008.
Pooja Rani had clinched the gold medal at the light heavyweight (81kg) in the Bangkok 2019 edition of the Asian Championships and later moved down to the middleweight (75kg) category. After Mary Kom and Lalbuatsaihi lost their final matches, Pooja Rani bagged India’s first gold medal in the Championships. Pooja was eight years older than her opponent in the finals, Uzbekistan’s Mavluda Mavlonova and her experience paved her way to gold in the title bout of the middleweight (75kg).
“It is a fantastic feeling taking the Asian title for the second time after Bangkok, that is what I have been prepared for during the last few months. I never met with my Uzbek opponent previously but she defeated Kazakhstan’s Olympic Games bronze medallist Marina Volnova therefore I expected a tough battle. I believe that I was better today and deserved to win the gold medal,” said Pooja after the finals.
The Women's event of the Championships was dominated by Kazakhstan as their boxers achieved eight gold medals out of the ten.|
List of the winners of the women’s finals in Dubai –
48kg: Alua Balkybekova, Kazakhstan
51kg: Nazym Kyzaibay, Kazakhstan
54kg: Dina Zholaman, Kazakhstan
57kg: Sitora Turdibekova, Uzbekistan
60kg: Rimma Volosenko, Kazakhstan
64kg: Milana Safronova, Kazakhstan
69kg: Valentina Khalzova, Kazakhstan
75kg: Pooja Rani, India
81kg: Fariza Sholtay, Kazakhstan
+81kg: Lazzat Kungeibayeva, Kazakhstan
In the Men's event, Indian boxers such as the defending champion Amit Panghal (52kg) and two other boxers Shiva Thapa (64kg) and Sanjeet (91kg) will be seen in action today in the men’s finals.
Panghal will take on the Rio Olympics and world champion Zoirov Shakhobidin of Uzbekistan. Whereas Assam pugilist Thapa will be up against the Asian Games silver medallist Baatarsukh Chinzorig of Mongolia. Second seeded Sanjeet will contest the Rio Olympics silver medallist Vassiliy Levit.
