Ulan-Ude (Russia), Oct 10: Six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) today surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in the Women’s World Championship history by securing an unprecedented eighth medal before three of her compatriots also entered the semifinals here.
The debutant duo of sixth seed Manju Rani (48kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg) along with last edition’s bronze-medallist and third seed Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) made the medal rounds along side Mary Kom to ensure that India equalled their last edition’s performance in terms of number of medals won.
The third-seeded Mary Kom defeated a spirited rival in Colombia’s Valencia Victoria, fetching a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the last-four stage.
Rani stunned top seed and last edition’s bronze-medallist Kim Hyang Mi of South Korea 4-1, while Boro, an Assam Rifles employee, got the better of Germany’s Ursula Gottlob by a similar margin after draining showdowns.
Borgohain, on the other hand, pulled off a facile 4-1 triumph over Poland’s sixth-seeded Karolina Koszewska.
“I am very happy to have secured a medal but I would be looking to make it better by reaching the finals,” the 36-year-old Mary Kom said after the bout.
“It was a good bout for me and I will now try to improve on this performance in the semifinals,” she added.
Awaiting Mary Kom in the semifinals on Saturday, after a rest day on Friday, is second-seeded Turk Busenaz Cakiroglu, who is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist. Cakiroglu defeated China’s Cai Zongju in her quarterfinal bout.
For Rani, her next opponent is going to be Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat, who upstaged fifth seed Yuliyanova Asenova. Boro will take on top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei.
Borgohain’s opponent in the semfinals would be China’s Yang Liu, who shocked top seed Chen Nien-Chin in her quarterfinal clash.
However, two-time bronze-medallist Kavita Chahal (+81kg) bowed out after a 0-5 loss to Belarus’ Katsiaryna Kavaleva. (PTI)
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