Merycom punches gold

8216;The competition was tougher this time. But I had prepared well for this championships. I feel proud to have won a gold medal again for...

8216;The competition was tougher this time. But I had prepared well for this championships. I feel proud to have won a gold medal again for our country,8217; said an elated Merycom Hmngte after retaining her 46-kg title in the third edition of World Women8217;s Boxing Championships at Podolsk, near Moscow, today.

8216;8216;The unanimous verdict 31-16 I earned against a local Russian opponent, Sabitova Elena in the semifinal yesterday gave me enough confidence to take on my old rival, North Korea8217;s Jong Ok in the final. I don8217;t know how to express my feelings now 8230; I am very happy .. very happy,8217;8217; the Manipuri boxer repeated, reacting to her back-to-back world crown, when contacted over phone.

8216;8216;Now my aim will be to work hard and win a medal in the next Olympic Games,8217;8217; she said. In the final, Merycom beat her North Korean rival with a convincing 28-13 verdict.

The Manipur girl, who took to boxing only four years ago after having excelled in athletics 8212; she was a keen 400m, 800m and javelin thrower 8212; had won her first world championship gold in 2002, in the same 46-kg weight category after having landed a silver 48-kg in the inaugural edition in 2001 in the United States.

She also has a very impressive record in the Asian Championships where she won gold medals in Hisar and Taiwan. She won the gold and the best boxer award in the Tonsberg world boxing meet last year which also saw her being decorated with the Arjuna Award. She also boxed her way to the gold in the Witch Cup in Hungary.

The Indian team8217;s coach, Anup Kumar, too, was excited about the impressive performances of the team members who bagged four bronze medals besides the gold.

8216;8216;It has been a good championship for our girls. The federation has been very helpful and supportive of the women boxers. It augurs well for Indian women boxers,8217;8217; Anup Kumar said over phone.

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Those who faltered at the semifinal hurdle included Kalpana Choudhary, who lost to Italy8217;s Galassi Simona; L Sarita Devi and Aswathy Mol both of whom bowed out in the identical fashion as they suffered defeats against Burger Dina and Slavinskaya Olga respectively when referee stopped the contest in round two.