Indian boxer Pooja Rani settles for bronze

Indian boxer Pooja Rani settled for the bronze medal after losing the semi-final of the women's middleweight (69-75kg) category at the 17th Asian Games here Tuesday.

Pooja lost 0-2, with the third judge giving a tied score, to China's Li Qian at the Seonhak Gymnasium.

Though it was a closely fought affair from the outset, the 23-year-old Indian got 37-39 from the first judge while the second judge went 39-37 in favour of the 24-year-old Chinese.

Pooja was particularly impressive in the second round, getting 30 points as compared to the Chinese, who got 27.

But Li Qian turned the tables in the third round and bagged full points from all the judges.

Pooja tried her best to stage a comeback in the fourth round but it was not enough as Li continued to get the better of her Indian opponent and entered the final slated for Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, five-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom marched into the final in the flyweight (48-51kg) competition while L. Sarita Devi settled for bronze in the lightweight (57-60kg) event.

With Pooja's bronze, India now have 44 medals (six gold, seven silver and 31 bronze).