Indian pugilists S Sarjubala (48kg) and Saweety (81kg) faltered at the final hurdle to settle for silver medals, rounding off a decent campaign for the country in the 8th World Women’s Boxing Championships, in Jeju on Monday.
Sarjubala lost to world No 3 Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan, who also happened to be a bronze-medallist from the previous World Championships.
Saweety, on the other hand, lost to Yang Xiaoli of China, to also settle for a silver medal. India thus managed to improve its performance from a bronze in the previous edition to a couple of silvers this time.
In the first summit clash of the day, Sarjubala was off the blocks aggressively and even though Kyzaibay displayed some well-timed counter-punching, Sarjubala managed to get the opening round unanimously.
The Kazakh, however, staged a recovery in the second round and targeted the Indian’s body to slow down the pace of the bout and draw level.
In the third round, Sarjubala came out firing on all cylinders but struggled to connect her punches. Kyzaibay was quick on her feet and was impressive when it came to taking evasive action.
In the decisive fourth round, both the boxers took a step back and waited for the other to make the first move. However, the cautious approach worked to the world number three’s advantage. Kyzaibay was on target with her combination blows and was unanimously chosen the winner.
