By Harpal Singh Bedi
Putting up a superb display of aggression, six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) and World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur (60kg)led the gold rush as Indian pugilists won seven titles and ended runners up in two categories at the 23rd President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo in Indonesia on Sunday ..
The Indian women won 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 enabled India to earn the ‘Best Team’ award at the end of the tournament.
Two months after winning the gold at the India Open, Mary Kom arrived at this tournament to test 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’ domination continued with Simranjit Kaur being equally impressive in her final against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun. Simranjit overwhelmed her opponent 5-0.
In 54kg, Assam’s Jamuna Boro did not put a foot wrong in a 5-0 demolition of Italy’s veteran boxer, Giulia Lamagna to add to the gold she won at the India Open in May.
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, 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.
Chopade did not show any nerves in a strong 5-0 win over Afghanistan’s Rahmani Ramish for his first significant international medal. Dahiya too absolutely outpunched his opponent, Macau’s Leung Kin Fong 5-0 to lay his hands on the glittering gold.
Neeraj had it tougher and dropped a point for a 4-1 gritty win over Filipino pugilist, Macado Jr. Ramel.
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.
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.