Manisha, Sarita advance in World women's boxing championships

Unperturbed by a tough draw, Manisha handed a shock 5-0 defeat to World championships medallist Christina of the USA in a 54kg first round contest.

Backed by loud cheers from the spectators, including her mother, Manisha executed her game plan well to deny her accomplished rival any free scoring opportunities.

Young Manisha Moun bolstered her reputation of being a giant-killer by toppling two-time World championships medallist Christina Cruz and seasoned L. Sarita Devi managed to edge past an experienced Sandra Brugger as India began its campaign on a positive note in the World women's boxing championships at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, here, on Friday.

Unperturbed by a tough draw, Manisha handed a shock 5-0 defeat to World championships medallist Christina of the USA in a 54kg first round contest.

Backed by loud cheers from the spectators, including her mother, Manisha executed her game plan well to deny her accomplished rival any free scoring opportunities.

READ: AIBA issues warning; India may lose 2021 event

Fighting from a distance, Manisha began watchfully and used her left-right combinations to good effect. Even while employing her footwork and swaying skills to avoid Christina's punches, the Indian built the tempo in the last two rounds.

When the 36-year-old American switched gear to more attacking mode, the home boxer replied with some lusty counter blows.

“My coaches had warned me of Christina's right blows. So, I avoided those and tried to land some left ones,” said Manisha, facing reigning world champion Kazakh Dina Zholaman, who beat Japanese Mizuki Hiruta on a split (4-1) decision, on Sunday.

While Manisha sounded confident about her next fight, Dina, who had lost to the Indian in the Silesian championship in Poland in September, rated the home challenger as a 'good boxer.' Sarita fought hard to beat to her Swiss opponent Sandra with a 4-0 decision in a 60kg second round bout.

The 36-year-old Indian seized the initiative by landing some clean punches before old hand Sandra answered back with her rapid combinations. Sarita made an impact with a solid right as Sandra went through a standing count in the second round.

With her stamina level dropping in the final round, the Indian held her guard tight and banked on the occasional counter-attack to emerge as the winner. She set-up a pre-quarterfinals clash with Worlds silver medallist in 64kg Kellie Harrington, who went past New Zealand's Commonwealth Games bronze winner Troy Garton 5-0, on Sunday.

“Since my opponent was aggressive, I had to defend a lot. In modern-day boxing, you have to use your guard and combination of punches and I did that,” said Sarita.

Other important results (preliminary rounds):

48kg: Steluta Duta (Rou) bt Laura Pfuertes (Esp) 5-0, Yulianova Asenova (Bul) bt Astryd Ugarte (Aus) 5-0, Hanna Okhota (Ukr) bt Marie Maciejewski (Ger) 5-0; Josie Gabuco (Phi) bt Ekaterina Paltseva (Rus) 5-0, Aigerim Kassenayeva (Kaz) bt Jazzelle Bobadilla (USA) 3-2.

54kg: ZohraEz Zahraoui (Mar) bt Azize Nimani (Ger) 3-2, Ivanna Krupenia (Ukr) bt Yingying Lu (Chn) 3-2, Julianna Rodriguez (Crc) bt Giulia Delaurenti (Ita) 5-0.

60kg: Mira Potkonen (Fin) bt Ajna Stridsman (Aus) 3-2, Sudaporn Seesondee (Tha) bt Stacia Suttles (USA) 3-2, Yeonji Oh (Kor) bt Beatriz Ferreira (Bra) 3-2, Paige Murney (Eng) bt Irma Testa (Ita) 3-2, Agnes Alexiusson (Swe) bt Ditte Frostholm (Den) 5-0, Karina Ibragimova (Kaz) bt Imane, Anastasiia Beliakova (Rus) bt Elisa Williams (Pan) 5-0.

69kg: Shakhnoza Yunusova (Uzb) bt Kimberly Gittens (Bar) 3-2, Myriam da Silva (Can) bt Eccles Rosie (Wal) 4-1, Akerke Bakhytzhan (Kaz) bt Erdenetuya Enkhbaatar (Mgl) 5-0, Athenya Bylon (Pan) bt Yuliia Stoiko (Ukr) 3-2.