State mates Devendro, Sarita in boxing finals at Glasgow CWG

Devendro Singh

L Sarita Devi became the first Indian boxer to enter the final of the women’s lightweight (57-60 kg) category of the boxing competition at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games as she floored Maria Machongua of Mozambique in a lop-sided bout.

A former world champion, Sarita was at her ruthless best, towering over Maria from round one, unleashing a flurry of punches to completely unsettle her opponent. In fact, the 32-year-old Manipuri woman went all out in the first two rounds, leaving her opponent to do all the defending.

The onslaught by Sarita was such that her opponent from Mozambique started clinging on to the Indian to avoid her barrage of punches. Sarita probably knew she was ahead of her opponent going into the final round, playing the waiting game even as Maria was literally going through the motions, appearing to be running out of steam.

The Indian, who earlier accounted for Wales’ Charlene Jones in the quarterfinals, will face Australia’s Shelley Watts in the final.

Later, her Manipur state mate Devendro Singh entered the men’s final outclassing Ashley Williams of Wales in the semifinals of the light flyweight category (51 kg). Thus, the state of Manipur is in line for a double gold.

Earlier, Pinki Jangra had to settle for a bronze after losing the semifinals of the women’s flyweight category (48-51 kg) to Northern Ireland’s Michaela Walsh.