Women have been constantly making the country proud, especially when it comes to sports- whether it is Shafali Verma scripting history in cricket or Arthi Arun bagging a gold medal in the World Powerlifting Championship. Now, it is in the field of boxing that the 19-year old Manju Rani has made us proud.
Manju Rani settled for silver at the Women’s World Boxing Championship after losing her 48kg final to Russian opponent Ekaterina Paltceva. She bagged the silver medal with a scoreline of 4-1 at Ulan-Ude in Russia yesterday, which is the first for any Indian in her age group!
Manju beat former World Championship bronze medallist Chuthamat Raksat of Thailand by a set score of 4-1 and made her way to the finals. It was the 19-year old’s pace and aggression coupled with her tremendous zeal and hard work that eventually landed her up with a victory in the semi-finals. A number of politicians including Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Rajyawardhan Rathore congratulated Manju.
Congratulations to #ManjuRani for her World Championship Silver. #Boxing a sport of guts to glory involves:
Skill,
Stamina,
Speed,
Strength &
Style. #MaryKom is the trend setter. @BFI_official pic.twitter.com/1isk64CcRt— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) October 13, 2019
The entire championship was no less than a historic campaign for Manju who has now become matched the feat of Mary Kom to reach the final at Worlds in her debut itself. In 2011, the legendary Mary Kom became the first Indian ever to have qualified for the final in her maiden participation at the World Championship. Apart from Manju and Mary Kom, ohers like Sonia Chahal, Sonia Lather, Saweety Boora, Sarjubala Devi and Usha Nagisetty have also reached the finals at their very first appearance.
The 19-year old was the only Indian in fray during the finals of the Championship and with this, India finished their campaign with a total of 4 medals: one silver and three bronze.
The Boxing Federation Of India tweeted, “India ends #aibaworldboxingchampionships 2019 editions with 4 medals and records etched to their names. A big salute to each one of you for your memorable journey. Keep Shining!🌟”
Captured📸
India ends #aibaworldboxingchampionships 2019 editions with 4⃣ medals and records etched to their names. A big salute to each one of you for your memorable journey.
Keep Shining!🌟#PunchMeinHaidDum #boxing#MissionOlympics#Mission2020 pic.twitter.com/Q5CwofdSuZ
— Boxing Federation (@BFI_official) October 13, 2019
After winning the semi-final match, Manju had shared, “I had already played her in Thailand Open semi-finals so I had the experience and knew what to expect. I managed to land a few uppercuts in the first round but she caused me trouble in the second round. I followed the strategy of the coaches in the last round and won the bout.”
More power to you, Manju!
Featured Image: Twitter
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