World Boxing C’ships: India’s only finalist Manju Rani finishes with silver medal on debut

Manju Rani, India’s only finalist at the World Women’s Boxing Championships, finished with silver in the 48kg final bout against second-seeded Russian Ekaterina Paltceva in Ulan-Ude, Russia on Sunday. She lost in a points decision (4-1) in what looked like a close bout.

The sixth-seeded Indian was unable to get in too many punches and the Russian seemed to have more power.

There was very little separating Rani and her rival, both of whom looked to attack in the first round. The Russian stood out for her near perfect left hooks in the opening three minutes.

In the second round, the Indian connected some good straights and seemed to have the upperhand over the crowd favourite.

The proceedings slowed down in the final three minutes when both the boxers adopted a cautious approach. There was quite a bit of holding, requiring the referee’s intervention quite a few times.

However, at the end of it the Russian emerged victorious perhaps for her a shade sharper reflexes. The Indian contingent was however visibly upset after the Paltceva’s hand was raised as the victor.

Rani broke into the national camp only this year by winning the national crown for Punjab after not getting the selection nod in Haryana. She put up a solid show in her debut at the tournament by making the final. Earlier, she had stunned top seed and last edition’s bronze-medallist Kim Hyang Mi of South Korea 4-1.

On Saturday, she had defeated Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat 4-1 in her semi-final bout. The 48kg class is not an Olympic category.

Earlier this year, she won a silver medal on debut at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament, one of Europe’s oldest and most competitive boxing events.

Rani hails from Rithal Phogat village in the Rohtak district of Haryana. The youngster lost her father, a Border Security Force officer, to cancer in 2010.

With PTI Inputs