L Sarita Devi advanced to the semi-finals to be assured of a medal along with five-time World Champion Mary Kom, who got a direct entry into the last-four stage of the Silesian Championship for women in Gliwice, Poland.
Former world champion Sarita defeated Czech Republic’s Alena Czechy 5-0 on Wednesday after going past Kazakhstan’s Aizan Khojabekova in the opening round of the 60kg category a day earlier.
She will now square off against another Kazakh in Karina Ibragimova in the semi-finals. Mary Kom is yet to set foot inside the ring but is through to the semis owing to the small size of the draw in the light flyweight 48kg category.
Among other Indians in fray, Ritu Grewal won her bout against Russia’s Svetlana Rosja 4-1 to make the 51kg category semis along with Lovlina Borgohain (69kg). Borgohain got the better of Czech Republic’s Martina Schmoranzova.
However, Seema Punia (+81kg), Pwilao Basumatary (64kg) and Shashi Chopra (57kg) lost their respective bouts to bow out of medal contention. Seema was beaten by Kazakh Lazzat Kungeibayeva 5-0, while Basumatary lost by a similar margin to Poland’s Natalia Barbusinska. Shashi, on the other hand, lost to England’s Anglea Chapman, also a unanimous verdict.
(With PTI inputs)