Women boxers head for Asian C''ship

Published Sat, May 22 10 02:37 PM

New Delhi, May 22 (PTI) Four-time world champion M C Mary Kom (46kg) would spearhead an 11-strong Indian challenge in the sixth Asian Women''s Boxing Championships starting tomorrow in Astana, Kazakhstan. Mary Kom, a Khel Ratna awardee, won a silver in the previous edition of the event held in September last year in Guwahati and the Manipuri is determined to clinch the gold this time. "I will try my level best to get a gold this time. It begins our build up for the Asian Games where women''s boxing will make its debut in three weight categories," Mary Kom told PTI here today. The May 23-31 tournament will feature close to 20 countries but May Kom said she is not intimidated by the draw. "I am a four-time world champion so the question of worrying about the draw doesn''t arise. I will give my best and the rest is fate. Technically, I adjust myself according to the situation and the opponent," she said. Apart from Mary, the team also features some well-established names like reigning Asian champion and two-time World Championships silver medallist N Usha (60kg) and former world champion and Arjuna awardee L Sarita Devi (51kg). Others in the squad include Kavita Goyat (69kg), who won a gold medal at last year''s Indoor Asian Games in Vietnam, and Aswathi Mol, a former Asian champion. Coach Anoop Kumar said the team has the right mix of youth and experience to better the third-place finish in the previous edition of the event. "The competition would be very tough but I think we will better our past performance. We should win at least three gold medals but China and Kazakhstan are going to be tough opponents. We had won three gold and three-four silver the last time around," he said. "Along with Mary, we have some experienced boxers, who can pull off tough wins because they have had good exposure at the international level," he said. The Team: M C Mary Kom (46kg), Venlal Duati (48kg), L Sarita Devi (51kg), Priyanka Chaudhary (54kg), Pavitra (57kg), N Usha (60kg), Meena Rani (64kg), Kavita Goyat (69kg), Sonam Yadav (75kg), Aswathi Mol (81kg) and Kavita Chahal (+81kg). PTI PM AT

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