Four Indian boxers win gold in Serbia

New Delhi - Young Indian men and women boxers wreaked havoc at the Golden Glove of Vojvodina – an international youth boxing tournament in Kikinda, Serbia – with scintillating performances in the finals.

A. Silambarasan (52kg) and Manish Solanki (69kg) in the men’s division and Rajesh Kumari (48kg) and Chanda Udanshive (51kg) in the women’s category clinched the Golden Glove title in their respective weight categories on Sunday.

Silambarasan, a 2012 Aglorav cup silver medallist, continued his top form in the tournament as he edged past Scotsman Stephen Boyle in the flyweight division.

Both the boxers had a very similar style of boxing and started off at an electric pace with neither ready to back down. Action continued in a similar vein in the second and the third round with not much separating the two. In the end, the relentless attacking of the Indian paid off as he was declared the winner; the two time silver medal winner at the Junior Nationals won the gold medal on a unanimous decision.

His clear punching and impressive style helped him bag the “Best Fighter of the Tournament” Trophy as well.

Welter-weight boxer Solanki also displayed great class as he devoured local boxer Stanojevic Lazar. His technical superiority coupled with nimble footwork was the difference between the two. The 2012 Junior Nationals bronze medallist went on to claim his first international medal with a victory on a unanimous decision.

Youth World Championships bronze medal winner Prasad (49kg) and reigning national champion Neeraj Parashar (64kg) had to be content with a silver medal after losing the title bout. Up against Russian Perminov Ilia, the 17 year old put up a strong show with his counter attacks and piercing jabs. But Russian proved too strong for Prasad; he lost on a split decision.

Parashar too came up short against Sam Ball from Scotland. The Scottish boxers established an early advantage with his superior tactics in the first two rounds. In the final three minutes, Neeraj tried hard to get back in the game, but Ball was up to the challenge. The Indian finally lost the chance for the gold on split decision.

Among the women, 17-year-old Kumari (48kg) continued her purple patch as she went on to upstage Bulgarian Poptoleva Valentina in an enthralling contest and win the light fly weight title. The young dynamo impressed everyone with her maturity and quick reflexes, for which she was also bestowed with the “Best Technical Boxer” award of the tournament.

Udanshive (51kg) upset Bulgarian boxer Buyuklieva Marina in fine fashion to win the gold in the fly weight category.

Marthamma Sattivada (64kg), Diksha (91kg) and Pema Chotan (+91kg) missed out on the Golden Glove title after going down in the final hurdle. The three girls had to be content with a silver medal performance from the event. Sattivada lost against Jelic Jelena of Serbia in what was a hard fought contest. Rookie boxers Diksh and Chotan went down against Kazakh boxers Rylina Anastasia and Sadykova Umida, respectively.