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Vijender, Devendro on fire as 4 Indian boxers enter CWG finals
Led by Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh, Indian pugilists stole the limelight on the ninth day of competition with four of them storming into the final of their respective weight categories at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, in Glasgow, on Friday.
Star boxer Vijender produced yet another dominating performance against Connor Coyle of Northern Ireland in the men's middleweight (75kg) to win a unanimous 3-0 verdict by the judges and book a place in the final.
Mandeep Jangra (men's 69kg), Laishram Devendro Singh (men's 46-49kg) and L Sarita Devi (women's 57- 60kg) also boxed their way into the finals while Pinki Rani (women's 51kg) lost her semi-final bout and settled for a bronze.
Vijender continued with his aggressive style of boxing, forcing his opponent to defend most of the time.
He got identical 10-9 scores from the three judges in the first round. He was able to land a left hook on the Irishman in the second. Another right jab followed and Coyle went defensive and Vijender again earned identical 10-9 scores from all the three judges.
The third round did not have much action but Vijender was the clear winner with all the judges giving yet another identical 10-9 score.
Medals tally: 2014 Commonwealth Games
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Vijender, Devendro on fire as 4 Indian boxers enter CWG finals
Laishram Devendro Singh played true to his aggressive self as he outclassed Ashley Williams of Wales in a thrilling contest to book a place in the final of the men's light-flyweight (46-49kg) category.
Devendro, 22, won a 3-0 unanimous verdict in a bout that kept the packed crowd on the edge of their seats.
The Indian was the dominant of the two boxers, as the Welshman was left to defend most of the time. He started in his characteristic attacking fashion and landed two full-blooded left hooks on Williams in the first round.
In the second, the Manipuri sent a ferocious left and right on the Welshman who fell to the canvas with the impact of the punch. A dazed-looking Williams, however, got up and to his credit kept coming at the Indian despite receiving several blows.
All the three judges gave identical 30-27, 30-27, 30-27 points in favour of Devendro.
Mandeep, on the other hand, fought his way back in remarkable fashion after trailing in the first two rounds of his semi-final against Steven Donnelley of Northern Ireland.
He was trailing at the end of the first round, the three judges giving identical 10-9 scores in favour of the Irishman. The Indian recovered a bit in the second, with two judges scoring 10-9 in his favour.
Mandeep, however, stormed back in fine fashion in the final round and the three judges give him identical 10-9 scores which sealed victory by a split 2-1 verdict.
Medals tally: 2014 Commonwealth Games
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Vijender, Devendro on fire as 4 Indian boxers enter CWG finals
Laishram Sarita Devi punched her way into the final of women's lightweight (57-60kg), defeating Maria Machongua of Mozambique in a lop-sided contest.
Sarita, a former World Championship silver medallist, dominated her semi-final bout as she landed punches on her opponent almost at will. The ferocity of the 29-year-old Manipuri was such that her Mozombique opponent tried to hide herself by holding on to the body of the Indian.
Sarita sent her opponent to the ropes several times with some powerful left and right hooks as the Mozambique boxer did not have any clue how to defend.
The Indian got a unanimous 3-0 verdict, the three judges scoring 40-33, 40-32, and 40-34 in her favour in the four rounds of two minutes each.
Later, Sarita said she was amused to see her opponent trying to hide her head instead of boxing.
"She was hiding under me and I thought this woman does not want to do boxing. So I laughed during the bout," she said.
"This is the first time women's boxing is there in the Commonwealth Games and I want to win the gold. So I have to prepare well for the final," she added.
Medals tally: 2014 Commonwealth Games
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Vijender, Devendro on fire as 4 Indian boxers enter CWG finals
Pinki Jangra lost a close semi-final to Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland and had to settle for a bronze in the women's 51kg category.
The Indian pugilist, who had beaten Olympic bronze medallist Mary Kom in the national trials to make it to the Indian boxing squad, came up with a valiant effort but was unable to unsettle a taller opponent.
She lost 0-2 after the Kazakhstan judge gave a 38-38 score to the two boxers in the eight-minute four-round contest.
The other judges from Canada and Hungary scored 40-36 and 39-37 in favour of Walsh.
The 24-year-old from Haryana trailed by a point in an almost equally-fought first round but the gap widened to two points after the second.
In the second round, Pinki's right jab landed on the face of her opponent who was thrown onto the ropes. Despite that, only one judge gave more points in favour of the Indian in the second round.
Pinki trailed by three points after the third round but the last round was the worst for the Indian as all the three judges went 10-9 in favour of Walsh.
Pinky later said she was not at her best.
"She (Walsh) was a good fighter. I made a few mistakes. I don't feel like I performed my best.
"She was taller than me and so I tried to hit her from below but it did not happen. I tried my best but I lost. I will have to find out the deficiencies in me with my coaches and improve upon them," Pinki said.
"I hope I will come back stronger," she added.