Mary Kom in Finals of Asian Boxing Championships, Lovlina Settles for Bronze

Dubai: Manipur-born Indian boxer and six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) made her way into the finals of the Asian Boxing Championships at Dubai after defeating Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg in the women's 51kg semi-final on Thursday. She made a defensive start and took her time in the first round.

According to the reports, Mary Kom, who was out of action and playing only the second event since the lockdown after recovering from dengue, took charge of the game and completed a 4-1 win. She will now be playing for her sixth gold medal at the continental showpiece. She will be up against Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyzaibay, a two-time world champion.

It is to be mentioned that while Mary Kom prevailed 4-1 over Mongolia's Lutsaikhan Altantsetseg, two-time youth world champion Sakshi upstaged top-seeded Kazakh Dina Zholaman 3-2.

On the other hand, the Tokyo-bound duo of Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) of Assam and Simranjit Kaur (60kg) along with Monika (48kg) and debutant Jaismine (57kg) settled for bronze medals after losing their semifinal bouts. Monika went down 0-5 to second-seeded Alua Balkibekova of Kazakhstan, while Jaismine too was bested in a unanimous verdict by another Kazakh in Vladislava Kukhta.

As per the sources, Simranjit, who recently recovered from COVID-19, also lost to a Kazakh, Rimma Volossenko, in an unanimous verdict. Lovlina was beaten by Navabakhor Khamidova of Uzbekistan in a split decision.

The 38-year-old Mary Kom said, "It has taken a lot to adjust to the humid weather here. Today, I was a bit slow in the first round but got my rhythm from the second round onwards. I had already fought her once so it didn't take much to understand her gameplan."

"The guard wasn't needed, I knew her quite well. I have faced Nazym earlier and have even defeated her in a couple of past tournaments. Let's see what's the challenge I get this time," she added.

Also Read: Mary Kom, Lovlina Borgohain, Shiva Thapa in Semis of Asian Boxing Championships 2021

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