India Open Boxing: Mary Kom strikes gold

Five-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist M.C. Mary Kom added yet another feather to her already-illustrious hat as she defeated Filipino Josie Gabuco to clinch gold in India Open International Boxing tournament here at the Thyagraj Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old proved to be too good for her opponent as she outwitted Gabuco in a split 4-1 decision to grab the gold in the 48kg women's weight category.

12th seed Mary had earlier booked her place in the finals after brushing aside Mongolian Altansetseg Lutsaikhan in the semi-final clash.

After gaining the upper hand with her aggressive approach in the first two rounds, the Manipur boxer appeared tired in the final three minutes before she managed to connect just enough blows to come out victorious.

Meanwhile, Pinki Rani also fetched gold for India after defeating Jargalan Ochirbat in the final of fly (48-51 kg) category.

Earlier, Shiva Thapa had to settle with a bronze medal after going down in the semi-finals of the 60 kg category. The top seed went down in a unanimous verdict to fellow Indian Manish Kaushik.