Former world silver-medallist Sarjubala Devi advanced to the quarterfinals but veteran Manoj Kumar was ousted in the second round of the Asian Games boxing competition in Jakarta on Sunday.
Sarjubala, competing in the flyweight 51kg category, defeated Tajikistan’s Madina Ghaforova 5-0 in a bout which was more gruelling than what the score-line might suggest.
However, Manoj went out in the round of 16 after being bested by Kyrgyzstan’s Abdurakhman Abdurakhamanov in the welterweight 69kg category.
Sarjubala, the reigning national champion, was up against a sprightly opponent and took a while to find her bearings in the bout.
The diminutive Manipuri, after being rattled a bit in the opening three minutes, came back strongly in the next two, hitting straight and hitting hard to get the judges’ unanimous nod.
Earlier, two-time Commonwealth Games medallist Manoj was outwitted by Abdurakhamanov in both ring-craft and precision.
The Indian’s punches lacked in power and he also struggled to find his way through Abdurakhamanov’s shell guard in the first two rounds.
The Kyrgyz boxer dropped his guard in the final three minutes but dominated with his aggressive approach to come out trumps.
