Pooja gave India the first gold, Marykom, Lalbutasahi and Anupama got silver
Pooja Rani of India has managed to save her title in the Asian Championship. Pooja won the first gold medal by defeating Uzbekistan’s Mavluda Moldonova 5–0 in a 75kg final match of the 2021 ASBC Asian Women’s and Men’s Boxing Championships in Dubai on Sunday while MC Marykom (51kg), Lalbutsahi (64 kg) and Anupama (+81 kg) had to settle for the silver medal after losing in the finals of their respective weight classes.
Pooja Rani, who was crowned for the title-winning Olympics in 2019, defeated Moldonova 5–0. India has won the first gold after 8 bronze and two silver in this prestigious championship jointly organized by Boxing Federation of India (BFI) and UAE Boxing Federation. The Indian contingent has won 15 medals so far. India had won 13 medals (2 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze) in Bangkok in 2019 and finished third in the table.
This is the fourth and the second consecutive gold medal in the Asian Championship of Pooja of Haryana’s Bhiwani. Pooja, who won a bronze medal at the Incheon Asian Games, won gold in 2019 in Bangkok, while bronze was won in 2015 and silver in 2012.
Earlier, India’s fearless young boxer Lalbutsahi, who considered six-time world champion MC Mary Kom as his idol, lost in the final. Lalbutshahi, who worked in the police for the first time playing in the Asian Championship and won the gold medal in the 2019 World Police Games, faced Milana Safronova of Kazakhstan in the final of 64 kg. She did not scare the experienced Saferonova at all and rained heavily but she lost the match 2-3.
Prior to Lalbutsahi, Mary Kom lost her record sixth gold. Mary was beaten by two-time world champion Nazim Kazabe 3–2 in the final of the 51kg category. Mary has won the silver medal for the second time, taking part in the Asian Championships for the seventh time. Their names are five gold and two silver. Mary Kom and Laishram Sarita Devi have won five gold medals each in the Asian Championships. The legendary boxer had won gold in the 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2017 editions, while 2008 and this year had silver in his share.
Anupama had to settle for a silver medal after losing 2-3 to Kazakhstan’s Lajjat Kunzaybayeva in the weight category of more than 81 kg.
The defending champion Amit Phanghal in the men’s section, Shiva Thapa (64 kg) and Sanjeet (91 kg), who have won five medals so far in this tournament, will be seen in action for the final time on Monday. .
The special thing of this year is that the prize money of the championship has been increased drastically. The International Boxing Association (AIBA) has allocated US $ 4,00,000 prize money for this championship. The gold medalists in the men’s and women’s categories will be awarded USD 10,000, while the silver and bronze medalists will be awarded USD 5,000 and USD 2,500, respectively.
Eight Indian boxers Simranjit Kaur (60 kg), Vikas Krishna (69 kg), Lavlina Borgohain (69 kg), Jasmine (57 kg), Sakshi Chaudhary (64 kg), Monika (48 kg), Sweety (81 kg) and Varinder Singh (60kg) had to face defeat in the semi-finals. All of them have won a bronze medal for the country.
It is noteworthy that 150 boxers from 17 countries including strong boxing nations like India, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Philippines and Kazakhstan participated in this championship.
