Jakarta : Former world silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi advanced to the quarter-finals but Manoj Kumar and Shiva Thapa were ousted after pre-quarterfinal losses in the Asian Games boxing competition here on Sunday.
Sarjubala, competing in the flyweight 51kg category, defeated Tajikistan’s Madina Ghaforova 5-0 in a bout which was more gruelling than what the score-line might suggest.
Manoj went out after being bested by Kyrgyzstan’s Abdurakhman Abdurakhamanov in the welterweight 69kg category, while Shiva spent less than a minute in the ring before referee stopped the contest in favour of China’s Jun Shan in the lightweight 60kg category. Sarjubala was up against a sprightly opponent and took a while to find her bearings in the bout.
The diminutive Manipuri, after being rattled a bit in the opening three minutes, came back strongly in the next two, hitting straight and hitting hard to get the judges’ unanimous nod.