Mary Kom wins gold in the President's Cup

Six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) and 2018 World Championships bronze winner Simranjit Kaur (60kg) grabbed a gold each as Indian boxers finished their campaign at the 23rd President’s Cup in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia with nine medals on Sunday.

The rich haul comprised seven gold and two silver. While the women had a flawless record in the finals, winning all the four gold medals on offer, the men had mixed fortunes and had to settle for two silver along with three gold.

The superb all-round performance helped the contingent win the ‘Best Team’ award. Two months after winning the gold at the India Open, Mary Kom arrived at this prestigious tournament with the aim of testing herself against the world’s best ahead of the World Championships in October.

In her first bout on Saturday Mary Kom had to dig deep to stave off the resistance of Vietnam’s Anh vo Thi Kim 3-2, but she was simply magnificent in the final as she powered to a 5-0 win over Australia’s April Franks.

Mary Kom, who claimed her sixth world title last year in Delhi, will be looking to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the World Championships in Yekaterinburg, Russia.

India’s gold rush continued with Simranjit Kaur being equally impressive in her final against Indonesia’s Asian Games bronze medallist Hasanah Huswatun. The Asian Boxing Championships silver medallist dominated her opponent 5-0.

In 54kg, Assam’s young and bright talent Jamuna Boro did not put a foot wrong in a 5-0 demolition of Italy’s veteran boxer Giulia Lamagna to add to the gold she won at the India Open in May.

In 48kg, youngster Monika ended the challenge of Endang of Indonesia by a similar scoreline to round off what was a memorable campaign for Indian women pugilists.

Among the men, 2017 Ulaanbaatar Cup gold medallist Ankush Dahiya (64kg), 2017 Simon Prestige Memorial tournament bronze medallist Neeraj Swami (49kg) and Ananta Pralhad Chopade (52kg) were crowned the champions in their respective weight categories.

Chopade did not show any nerves in a strong 5-0 win over Afghanistan’s Rahmani Ramish for his first significant international medal. Dahiya too absolutely outpunched his opponent, Macau’s Leung Kin Fong 5-0 to lay his hands on the glittering gold.

Neeraj had it tougher and dropped a point for a 4-1 gritty win over Filipino pugilist Macado Jr. Ramel. However, it was a heartbreak for former World Championships bronze medallist Gaurav Bidhuri who gave his all but was edged 2-3 by Indonesian Mandagie Jill in the 56kg bantamweight bout.

2018 India Open silver medallist Dinesh Dagar found Indonesia’s Samada Saputra too strong and was dealt a 0-5 blow on his way to the silver medal.