Shillong: Olympic medallist MC Mary Kom, L Sarita Devi and Aruna Mishra, among others, booked their place in the final round of the South Asian Games qualifiers today.
Kom overcame a spirited Nikhit Zareen, while Sarita Devi passed the Meena Kumari test.
Meanwhile, Mishra emerged winner in a bout which had to be decided on the basis of two rounds after power failure in the NEHU, SAI Special Area Games venue disrupted the game.
Others who made the cut are Sarjubala Devi, Soniya and Pooja Rani.
Earlier, the famed MC Mary Kom was forced to come out of her comfort zone by the versatile Nikhit Zareen, who started on an impressive note.
By the second round Mary was back to her own way. The technique of stepping back, waiting for her opponent to make the move that Mary Kom used to perfection in the last two days, was again seen on play and it did work in her favour in the second round.
The third round started on a rather aggressive note with both boxers trading a jab each but by the end of two minutes, Mary managed to gain upper hand over her young rival. Combining her hooks and jabs, the Asian Games gold medallist tamed her spirited opponent in the fourth round to seal the deal in her favour.
Sarita, too, had to dig deep to overcome Meena Kumari in the light weight category bout. Usually agile and aggressive from the word go, the five-time Asian champion, Sarita Devi decided to play a waiting game in the first two rounds. The third round revealed a glimpse of the real Sarita who launched a flurry of punches on her opponent, especially rattling her with a couple right hooks.
The AIP boxer eventually made the cut.
