Mary Kom, Shiva storm into semis, assured of medals

New Delhi, January 30: Five-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist MC Mary Kom starred on a day that saw Indian boxers make a beeline into the semifinals of the SpiceJet India Open International Boxing tournament here at the Thyagraj Indoor stadium on Tuesday.

Olympian Shiva Thapa, Sarita Devi, Manoj Kumar, Dheeraj, Rohit Tokas also made it to the medal round.

Mary had to be at her best though as Bina Devi made her intent clear right at the start, attacking the Indian legend relentlessly. She floated around the ring while picking her target effortlessly to score at will, using all her experience for a 5-0 verdict.

Thani Narinram of Thailand and Enkh-Amar Kharkhu of Mongolia led the foreign brigade into the Round of Four in various categories.

Take a look at these beautiful candid shots captured beyond the arc-lights during the @Spicejet India Open International Boxing Tournament. #PunchMainHaiDum pic.twitter.com/lV7B8x9KXD

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) January 30, 2018

In a fist of fury kind of battle, Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines warded off Thailand's Tassamalee Thongjan in the feather-weight category. Two other bouts went down to the wire, with Cameroon's Essiane Clotilde sneaking past India's Pooja Rani in the middle-weight division while Thailand's Panish Suchada outgunned her Indian opponent Rumi Gogoi also in the same division.

Young Shiva had to fight hard to shake off Sherbek Rakhmatulloev in the light-weight category. Sherbek proved to be a rock solid opponent, and a solid left which crashed through the Indian's guard each time he unleashed it.

Shiva looked lost in the opening stanza, when the Uzbek came calling no sooner than the bell went off. He exploded right into Indian's face and body points, and didn’t allow the Indian to settle into a rhythm. Each time, Shiva tried to break free, Sherbek effortlessly ducked and weaved out of harm's way, making for a difficult target to hit.

Shiva, however, managed to turn on the heat in the second and final round, freeing his arms and finding his target with jabs and hooks.

.#ShashiChopra beat #SandhyaRani 5-0 in the feather-weight category to enter the semifinals of the @flyspicejet India Open. The World Youth Boxing Championship gold medal winner talks about her chances in the tournament. #PunchMeinHaiDum pic.twitter.com/M4oW15F0nY

— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) January 30, 2018

The victory ensured a mouth-watering semifinal clash against his arch Indian rival Manish Kaushik, who looks to be in the form of his life. Manish is on a high, after stunning Cuban Rabi in the first round and withstood a stiff challenge from the talented Philippine boxer Charley Suarez.

A few Indians also crashed out of the tournament, including Sonia Lather, Rajesh Narwal, Ashish fell by the wayside.

RESULTS:

Women:

Women Feather (54-57KG): Marwam Jemba (Ina) bt Sonia Lather (Ind) 3:2; Petecio Neshty (Phl) bt Thongjan Tassamalee (Ina) 5:0; Sonia (Ind) bt Christelle Ndiang (Cmr) 5:0; Shashi Chopra (Ind) bt Y Sandhyarani (Ind) 5:0;

Women Light (57-60KG): L. Sarita Devi (ind) bt Laoeam Peamwilai (Tha) 4:1; Priyank Choudhary (Ind) bt Hasanah Huswatun (Ina) 5:0; Potkonan Mira Marjut (Fin) bt Phiri Violet (Zmb) 5:0; Pavitra (Ind) bt Monika (Ind) 5:0;

Women Middle (69-75KG): Clotilde Essiane (Cmr) bt Rani Pooja (Ind) 3:2; Suchada Panich (Tha) bt Rumi Gogoi (Ind) 3:2; Saweety Bora (Ind) bt Rani Sarswati (Npl) 5:0; Alari Boro (Ind) bt Andiego Elizabe Edhiam (Ken) 4:1;

Men:

Light Fly (46-49 KG): Amit (IND A) bt Simplice Fotsala (CMR) 5:0; Lalbiakkima Nutlai (IND F) bt Hasan Shaffi Bakari (KEN) 5:0; Kakara Shyam Kumar (IND C) bt Ilahi Ingatan (INA) 4:1; Narinram Thani (THA) bt Macado Ramel Jr (THA) 5:0;

Fly (52 KG): Gaurav Solanki (IND A) bt Drugyel Tenzin (BHU) 4:1; Shaik Salman Anwar (IND C) bt Mwale David (ZMB) 4:1; Fayzov Khudoynazar (UZB) bt Mavia Laldin (IND D) 3:2; Tabamo Marvin (PHL) bt Ongjunta Tanes (THA) 3:2;

Bantam (56 KG): Mohammad Hussamuddin (IND A) bt Alwadi Moh Abdelaziz (JOR) 5:0; Kharkuu Enkh-Amar (MGL) bt Varinder Singh (IND D) 5:0; Khan Etash (IND C) bt Azizi Laisullah AFG) 5:0; Sharakhmatov Abdulkhay (UZB) bt Madan Lal (IND B) 5:0;

Welter (69 KG): Manoj Kumar (IND A) bt Pawan Kumar (IND C) 5:0;