Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: Young and talented boxer Jamuna Boro collected another gold medal from an international meet and this time from 23rd President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo in Indonesia today. In the 54kg final the boxer from Assam defeated Italy’s veteran boxer Giulia Lamagna 5-0. Earlier she also collected a gold from India Open held in Guwahati in May.
Meanwhile six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) and 2018 World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg) also grabbed a gold medal each as Indian boxers finished their campaign at the on a high with a rich haul of nine medals that included seven gold and two silver.
While the women had a flawless record in the finals, winning all the four gold medals on offer, the men had mixed fortunes and had to settle for two silver along with three golds. The superb all-round performances accorded the contingent the ‘Best Team’ award at the end of the tournaement.
Mary Kom arrived at this prestigious tournament with the aim of testing herself against the world’s best ahead of the World Championships in October. Even though in her first bout, she had to dig deep to stave off the resistance of Vietnam’s Anh vo Thi Kim 3-2, Mary was simply magnificent in the final as she powered to a 5-0 win over Australia’s Franks April.
India’s gold rush continued with Simranjit Kaur being equally impressive in her final against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun. The Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist dominated her opponent 5-0.
In 48kg, youngster Monika ended the challenge of Endang of Indonesia by a similar scoreline to round off what was a memorable campaign for Indian women pugilists.
Among the men, 2017 Ulaanbaatar Cup gold medallist Ankush Dahiya (64kg), 2017 Simon Prestige Memorial tournament bronze medallist Neeraj Swami (49kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) were crowned the champions in their respective weight categories.
It was a heartbreak for former World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri who gave his all but was edged 2-3 by Indonesian Mandagie Jill in the 56kg bantamweight bout.
2018 India Open silver medallist, Dinesh Dagar too found Indonesia’s Samada Saputra too strong and was dealt a 0-5 blow on his way to the silver medal.