Manisha upstages champion Dina
Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Ireland ‘s Kellie Harrington spoiled Indian party, from having a Perfect 10, as she ousted veteran Sarita Devi in 60 kg (Lightweight) pre-quarter final, while young Manisha Moun stunned reigning world champion Dina Zholaman (Kazakhstan) to move into the quarter finals of the 54 kg category in the 10th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships at the KD Jhadav Hall, IG Indoor stadium in Delhi on Sunday..
Three other Indians – the 35-year-old M.C. Mary Kom, who is chasing here sixth gold, Lovlina Borgohain and Bhagyabati Kachari- chalked out easy victories over their rivals to storm into the quarterfinals..
In a bitterly fought bought, Sarita Devi went down to Kellie 2-3 to become first Indian pugilist to crash out of the championship
After battling it out on equal terms in first two rounds, the 28-year-old Irish pugilist, the Astana and European medal winner, turned the table in her favoure in the deciding round, by out-boxing the Indian.
“I thought I got unluckier. Some points did not go my way. But I will continue to box as long as I can,” said the 36-year old Indian after her defeat.
Earlier in the 54 kg pre-quarter finals, Manisha thrilled her fans and supporters as she outpunched world champion Dina Zholaman 5-0. It was Manisha’s successive victory over the Kazakh, having beaten her in Poland recently.
Manisha,, banked on speed and evasive action to keep Zholaman out of harm’s way. With left-right and the straights she dominated the first-round but the experienced Kazakh came back aggressively in the second.
In the decider Manisha raised the intensity and landed a few combination blows even as Dina made good efforts, charging at the Indian. But it didn’t matter in the end as the Haryana girl earned a unanimous 5:0 verdict in her favoure.
“I had beaten her once before (in Poland) and I focused on speed and concentrated on target areas. I did well in the first two rounds but in the third it was more or less even.” Manisha said after her win.
.@saritadevi15 goes down by a split decision of 2:3 against her Irish opponent. Tough luck! #PunchMeinHainDum #AIBA #WWCHs2018 pic.twitter.com/6om2C9viTp
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) November 18, 2018
The 20-year old Indian will take on top-seeded Stoyka Zhelyakova Petrova, who defeated Uzbek’s Tursunoy Rakhimova 4:1, in the quarterfinals.
Chasing her sixth world title, Mary Kom virtually toyed with Aigerim Kassenayeva in 48 Kg bout .The experienced Manipuri sent down a few rights which brooked no challenge from her rival who, reeling under pressure, slipped twice before gathering herself up. But she failed to match the guile and speed of a 35-year-old.
Mary will take on Wu Yu of China in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon. The Chinese had earlier beaten Filipino Josie Gabuo.
After her win, the five time champion said “Feeling good, the pressure is off. I always enjoyed boxing, it has been my life whether I train or compete in tournaments,” .
“I am happy I lived up to expectations. I got doubly energized because of the support from my fans,” added the pugilist before going for a cool-off session.
On her Chinese opponents, Mary said: “She is a new entrant and I will have to see how to handle her.”
Lovlina put up an impressive show in her 69 kg pre-quarterfinal bout against former world champion Panama’s Atheyna Bylon,
The tall Panama pugilist was startled by the Lovlina’s charge and was tactically not as good despite her experience, having won multiple medals internationally. The southpaw did come at the Indian intermittently but Lovilina punched her way ahead, collecting the goodwill of judges on technical and tactical aspects (27-30, 27-30, 27-30, 27-30, 27-30) to be a clear winner.
“I know it would be a tough bout. But I had the confident because I had prepared well. I had a good defence despite the tall opponent coming at good speed at me,” said the Assamese, who will clash with Australian Kaye Frances Scott in the quarterfinals.
The Aussie beat Kazkhstan’s Akerke Bakhytzhan in a unanimous decision. The 34-year-old has a silver medal from the last edition of the world championships at Asthana besides a bronze medal from the 2018 CWG. But the Indian has the age on her side as she is just 21 years old and very nimble footed.
Baghyabati Kachari proved her prowess, beating Germany’s Irina-Nicoletta Schonberger in a split verdict (4:1) in 81 kg category. After a very positive start and a grand opening, the Assam boxer was pushed somewhat on the back foot in the second with the German, cleverly using her reach to land a few combination punches.
But the strong Indian launched really nicely in the third as both pugilists went broke in the last minute. The points (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28) that the judges awarded indicate that the Indian was superior technically.
“Speed was essential against the German and I controlled it nicely. My coaches told me to keep it lower and I followed the direction. Ultimately, it paid off,” said Baghyabati.
In another upset , top seed in Russian boxer, Anastasiia Beliakova lost to China’s Yang Wenlu in the 60 kg category 3:2.