Shillong: M C Mary Kom and Pooja Rani knocked out their respective opponents while L Sarita Devi survived a scare as India grabbed all the three gold medals on offer in women’s boxing for an overall clean-sweep of top honours in the 12th South Asian Games here today.
On a comeback trail after recovering from a shoulder injury, London Olympics bronze-medallist Mary Kom (51kg) packed a powerful punch against her seasoned Sri Lankan rival Anusha Kodituwakku Dilrukshi to be adjudged winner via Technical Knockout (TKO) in a bout lasting less than 90 seconds.
With Mary landing some powerful blows, Anusha lost her balance and injured her right knee. This forced her to take a medical break before attempting a comeback.
However, a booming jab from the five-time world champion sent her almost out of the ring before the referee intervened. The injury to Anusha will take about two-three months to heal.
“Anusha has sustained medical collateral ligament tear which would take about two three months to recover,” the Sri Lankan team doctor told.
The atmosphere was electrifying at the North Eastern Hill University in the outskirts of the city with the SAI Complex, which has a seating capacity of only 500, filled up to the brim and spectators queued up since morning.
The event got off to a 40-minute delayed start owing to some technical issues.
