Manju gets silver in maiden Worlds

Ulan-Ude (Russia), October 13

Boxer Manju Rani’s stupendous debut run at the women’s World Championships ended with a silver medal after she lost the light flyweight (48kg) final to Russia’s Ekaterina Paltceva here. The Rohtak boxer, who was seeded sixth, went down 1-4 to the second-seeded local favourite in the first final of the day.

Manju, who turns 20 next Saturday, was the lone Indian to make the finals after MC Mary Kom (51kg), Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for bronze yesterday. There was very little separating Manju and her rival, both of whom looked to attack in the first round. The Russian stood out for her near-perfect left hooks in the opening three minutes. In the second round, the Indian connected some good straight punches and seemed to have an upper hand over the crowd favourite. The proceedings slowed down in the last three minutes when both the boxers adopted a cautious approach. There was quite a bit of holding, requiring the referee’s intervention quite a few times. However, at the end of it the Russian emerged victorious, perhaps for her sharper reflexes. However, the Indian contingent was visibly upset after Paltceva’s hand was raised as the victor. 

The youngster lost her father, a Border Security Force officer, to cancer in 2010. — PTI

Indian Medallists 

• Manju Rani (48kg) Silver
• Mary Kom (51kg) Bronze
• Jamuna Boro (54kg) Bronze
• Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) Bronze