Mary Kom, Nikhat begin with wins
Mary Kom countered her opponent's attack quite easily, digging from her experience to claim a unanimous win.
New Delhi: India were assured of a medal without a fight, owing to the small size of the draw, even as favourite M.C. Mary Kom (48kg) advanced to the quarter-final of the India Open boxing tournament here on Sunday.
Pooja was through straight to the welterweight (69kg) semi-finals because to the small size of her draw, opening India’s account on the first day itself.
Seeded 12th, five-time world champion Mary Kom, who claimed a fifth Asian Championships gold medal just a couple of months ago, advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating surprise fifth seed compatriot Varsha Choudhary.
Mary Kom countered her opponent’s attack quite easily, digging from her experience to claim a unanimous win.
Nikhat Zareen got the better of Neeraj in her opening clash of the 51kg categor, winning on a split verdict.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Pinki Jangra, seeded sixth, had no trouble sailing past compatriot Meen-akshi in the same weight category. Saweety Boora (75kg), seeded sixth, too advanced expectedly, defeating compatriot K.A. Indraja. In the men’s section, Olympian Manoj Kumar overcame Kenya’s Kimathi Jacob in the welterweight division.