Manju Rani, Jamuna Boro, Neeraj, Manju Bomboriya, Nandini are set to debut as veterans Mary Kom and Sarita Devi spearhead India’s challenge at the women’s World Boxing Championships.

Six-time world champion Mary Kom (51kg) and World Championships bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) had already confirmed their place in the squad due to their consistent performances in the last few months while India Open gold medalists, Sarita Devi (60kg), Neeraj (57kg) and Jamuna Boro (4kg) were among the 10 boxers selected as the three-day trials came to an end on Thursday.

The World Championships will take place in Ulan Ude, Russia from 3 to 13 October.

Manipur’s Sarita Devi, a world champion in 2006, confirmed yet another trip to the tournament when she dominated last year’s World Championships bronze medallist Simranjit Kaur in 60kg. Simranjit had been in good form of late as validated by her gold from the Indonesia President’s Cup last month and a flawless win over Parveen at the trials. But in the final, she went down to the highly motivated Sarita Devi, who won her eighth medal at the Asian Championships this year.

Fresh from claiming the gold at the Umakhanov Memorial International just last week, Haryana pugilist Neeraj continued her winning streak by edging out Asian Championships bronze medallist Manisha Moun to secure the 57kg berth. Manisha’s upset win over the World Championships silver medallist Sonia Chahal a day earlier was not enough for her to withstand the barrage from the youngster.

In 75kg, Asian Championships gold medallist Pooja Rani failed to assert her supremacy even after a series of strong performances that saw her win bronze at the Umakhanov Memorial International and subsequently dashing the hopes of India Open champion Bhagyabati Kachari in her opening bout at the trials.

The experienced boxer was beaten by Saweety Boora, a gold medallist from the same tournament a year before, who had started the trials with an effortless win over Pooja.

In 48kg, Strandja Cup silver medallist Manju Rani gave a display of her immense talent once again when she overpowered Indonesia President’s Cup gold medallist Monika.

The 64kg also witnessed an upset when Assam’s 2017 world youth champion Ankushita Boro was blanked by Madhya Pradesh girl Manju Bomboriya in a scintillating performance. This weight category turned out to be highly competitive with two exciting semi-finals. Ankushita needed to work hard to see off Lalita in an evenly-matched bout while Manju thwarted a comeback from Strandja Cup bronze medallist Pwilao Basumatary.

Indonesia President’s Cup gold medallist Jamuna Boro had to dig deep to stave off a stiff resistance from Shiksha and book her 54kg World Championships ticket. Shiksha had earlier stunned the Cologne Boxing World Cup gold medallist Meena Kumari in a gruelling encounter to reach the final.

In 81kg, Chandigarh’s Nandini outlasted Lalfakmawi while Kavita Chahal emerged triumphant over Neha Yadav in +81kg. Earlier, Lalfakmawi had prevailed over Jigyasa in 81kg and Neha had blitzed past Anaswara in +81kg.

The Squad:

Manju Rani (48kg)

Mary Kom (51kg)

Jamuna Boro (54kg)

Neeraj (57kg)

Sarita Devi (60kg)

Manju Bomboriya (64kg)

Lovlina Borgohain (69kg)

Saweety Boora (75kg)

Nandini (81kg)

Kavita Chahal (+81kg)