Marykom leads record number of eight Indians in semis of Asian women boxing

Continuing their excellent run, a record number of eight Indian women boxers made it to the semifinals of the 6th Asian Women Boxing Championships in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Three out of four Indian boxers won their quarterfinal bouts on Thursday, in addition to five boxers who had already won their bouts on Wednesday.

The eight medals for the Indian eves will be a new record at the Asian Women's boxing competition, according to the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation (IABF) release.

On the day, five-time world champion MC Mary Kom, Monica Saun and Pooja Rani won their respective quarterfinal fights, but Mandakini Chanu went down despite fighting bravely.

In the 69 kgs, Monica Saun defeated Moldir Bazarbayeva of Kazakhstan on points 16-14.

It was indeed a close bout as Monica was trailing 2-3 after the opening round. In the next round, once Monica started attacking, the Kazakh girl went on the defensive and the Indian stretched her lead to 9-7 points.

However, in the third round, the Kazakh boxer came back strongly and equaled at 11-11.

The fourth round saw Monica attacking right from the start and sealing the issue at 16-14. She will now meet Dapana Durage Shiromali of Sri Lanka in the semifinals.

In the 75 kgs, Pooja Rani comprehensively defeated Undram Erdenesoyol of Mongolia 28-6. Pooja was leading 8-2 after the opening round and by the end of Round 2, she made it 13-4 before surging to 19-5 in the next round.

Her opponent in the semifinal will be Su Rim Paek of Peoples Republic of Korea (PRK).

Among other Indians, Pinki Jangra (48 kgs), Sonia Lather (54 kgs), Sarita Devi (60 kgs), Bhagyabati Kachari (81 kgs) and Kavita Chahal (85 kgs) also made their way into the semifinals.