Mary Kom, Sarita in semis of Asian women's boxing

Four-time World champion M C Mary Kom (46kg) and L Sarita Devi (51kg) are assured of at least a bronze medal each after easing into the semi-finals of the Asian Women's Boxing Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Mary Kom defeated Sri Lanka's Anushka 6-3, while Sarita thrashed Ri Hyang Mi of North Korea 10-1 amid protests from the rival camp, which alleged unfair scoring.

However, it was heartbreak for Mizoram boxer Venlal Duati (48kg), who lost to China's Luo Yujie.

Duati was locked 1-1 with Yujie after the regulation four rounds and the boxers' scores were the same in the count-back as well.

The five-member judges' panel then stepped in and declared Yujie the better of the two, Indian Boxing Federation Secretary General Col P K Muralidharan Raja, who is in Astana as a technical delegate, said over phone.

The diminutive Mary Kom, who is aiming to better the silver she won in the previous edition of the event, was the first from the Indian team to step into the ring on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old took a 2-0 lead in the first round and stretched it to 5-1 after the third. Anushka tried to claw back in the final two minutes but the effort proved too little too late.

"It was tougher than the first-round bout, but I have the experience to adjust according to the situation. I attacked more today and caught her on counter-punches as well," Mary Kom said from Astana.

Sarita, a gold medallist in the last edition, was even more dominant as she out-punched Mi.

With a 3-1 lead to start with, she dominated the proceedings but there was some drama after the bout as the Korean team lodged a protest against what they called unfair judging.

"The Korean team felt that their boxer was not given points for genuine punches. They lodged a protest," Raja said.

India has a 11-strong presence at the event, where 16 countries are competing. India finished third, with three gold and two silver medals, in the last edition in Guwahati.