Gold for Mary Kom, Manisha gets silver in Polish boxing tourney
NEW DELHI: The seasoned MC Mary Kom (48kg) collected her third gold medal of the year with a display of tactical brilliance while Manisha (54kg) settled for a silver in the 13th Silesian Open Boxing Tournament for women in Gliwice, Poland.
Five-time world champion Mary Kom, returning to the ring after recovering from some niggles that kept her out of the Asian Games, prevailed 5-0 against Kazakhstan's Aigerim Kassanayeva to pick up India's lone senior category gold at the event on Saturday.
Her other two gold medals this year came in the inaugural India Open in Delhi and the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. She also won a silver at the prestigious Strandja Memorial Tournament in Bulgaria.
The 35-year-old former Olympic bronze-medallist was in her elements against a taller opponent, displaying a brilliant counter-attacking strategy. The nimble-footed Indian showed sharp reflexes and did not allow a clear shot to Kassanayeva through the bout.
"Mary was terrific in executing her strategy, it was a flawless performance," India coach Rafaelle Bergamasco from Gliwice.
The Manipuri, a 2014 Asian Games gold-medallist, took full advantage of her rival's hesitation and went full throttle in the final three minutes to strike some good body blows.
Her strong right hand worked well for her and she never allowed the southpaw to settle.
Manisha was next to take the ring against Ukraine's Ivanna Krupenia. The Indian went down 2-3 even though she came across as the more aggressive of the two boxers.
"Manisha was very good in the bout and in my opinion, she deserved to win," said Bergamasco.
India also won four bronze medals in the senior category through former world champion L Sarita Devi (60kg), Ritu Grewal (51kg), Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Pooja Rani (81kg).
In the youth competition, Jyoti Gulia (51kg), a former world champion and India's only boxer to have qualified for next month's Youth Olympic Games in Argentina, was India's lone medallist with a gold.
In the junior competition though, the Indian team produced a terrific performance to sign off with 13 medals - six gold, six silver and a bronze.
courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Man sets fire to gas cylinder on truck in Kerala's Kottayam, held
Kottayam(Kerala) (PTI): A 33-year-old man climbed onto a parked truck carrying cooking gas cylinders and set fire to one of them near Thalayolaparambu in the small hours of Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 12.30 am, they said.
The fire and rescue personnel soon arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, averting a major disaster.
According to police, the man is suspected to be under mental distress as he claimed that he was walking from Ernakulam to his home in Marangattupilly here when he saw the truck on the roadside.
An FIR under sections 329(3)(criminal trespass),324(2)(mischief),326(f)(mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was lodged against him.
Police said that the man was formally arrested, but will be released on station bail as the offences he is accused of are bailable.
"His family is here at the station and he will be released to them," the officer said.
In the FIR, police have said that the man opened the seal of one of the gas cylinders and set fire to it with the knowledge that his act was dangerous to those living in the area.
According to the company transporting the cooking gas cylinders, it suffered a loss of Rs 2,300 in the incident.
