World Championships silver medal winner Manju Rani, 19, says she gained motivation to excel in boxing after watching India's two Olympic medallists
India's Manju Rani's (right) punches second seed Ekaterina Paltceva of Russia during their 48kg final at the AIBA Women's World Boxing Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia yesterday. Rani lost 1-4
Ulan- Ude (Russia): Indian boxer Manju Rani's stupendous debut run at the Women's World Championships ended with a silver medal yesterday after she lost the light flyweight (48kg) final to Russia's Ekaterina Paltceva here. The Haryana-boxer, who was seeded sixth, went down 1-4 to the second-seeded local favourite in the first final of the day.
Rani, who turns 20 on Saturday (October 18), was the lone Indian to make the finals after six-time champion M C Mary Kom (51kg), Jamuna Boro (54kg) and Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) settled for bronze medals. In case of Borgohain, it was her second successive third-place finish.
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Tough final bout
There was very little separating Rani and her rival, both of whom looked to attack in the first round. The Russian stood out for her near perfect left hooks in the opening three minutes. In the second round, the Indian connected some good straights and seemed to have the upperhand over the crowd favourite. The proceedings slowed down in the final three minutes when both the boxers adopted a cautious approach. There was quite a bit of holding, requiring the referee's intervention quite a few times. However, at the end of it the Russian emerged victorious perhaps for her a shade sharper reflexes.
Hailing from the Rithal village in Rohtak, life was tough for Rani. She lost her father, a BSF man, to cancer in 2010 and was raised, along with four of her other siblings, by her mother Ishwanti Devi. "I started as a kabaddi player but that's a team sport and credit is shared. Boxing attracted me because it's an individual sport, the glory is all yours," she recalled.
Inspirational stuff
It also helped that she had Olympic medal winners in Vijender Singh and M C Mary Kom to look up to. "Vijender bhaiyya and Mary didi have inspired many, and I am one of them. Just looking at what they have achieved makes you want to work harder. I used to watch them and feel good about taking up this sport," she said. Rani broke into the national camp only this year by winning the national crown for Punjab after not getting the selection nod in Haryana. Earlier this year, she won a silver medal on debut at the Strandja Memorial Tournament, one of Europe's most competitive boxing events.
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