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M.C Mary Kom and Kavita Goyat won gold for India in the Asian Indoor Games on Wednesday. The other Indians in the final, Sarita Devi and N. Usha lost their respective bouts and had to contend with silver medals.
Four-time world champion Mary Kom defeated Hoa Nguyen Thi of Vietnam by 8-6. Mary Kom, with her crisp straight punches and sharp jabs led 1-0 at the end of round one and finished 3-2 after the second round. Round three ended with the score reading 6-5 in favour of the Indian. Mary Kom increased the lead in the last round to silence the vociferous home crowd.
Kavita outclassed Khassenova Saida of Kazakhstan by 8-4 in the 64 kg category. Kavita led 2-0 after the first round, and extended the lead to 4-2 in the second round. Saida came back strongly in the third round and narrowed the margin to 4-5. The Indian, however, played well in the last round and bagged three more points without conceding any.
In the 51 kg finals, Sarita Devi lost to Qin Zhang of China 7-9.Usha also lost in the 57 kg category, going down by 2-3 to Peamwilai Laopeam of Thailand.
The International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) conferred an 'AIBA Special Award' on Mary Kom for her outstanding contribution to boxing. The award was presented by Nieva Embuldeniya from Sri Lanka, the Technical Delegate of this Championship and also the AIBA Executive Committee Member from Asia.
