Kalpana, Usha register wins in World Championship

New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) After the disappointing start yesterday, the Indians bounced back strongly with Kalpana Choudhry and N Usha winning their respective bouts in the 48 kg and 57 kg category of the fourth World Women Boxing Championship here today.

While Kalpana won comfortably against Nadia Shehata Abdelsamad of Egypt, Usha had a tougher challenger in the last edition's Bronze medalist Sandra Bizier of Canada.

Kalpana was the first Indian to take to the ring today and she did not disappoint the fans who cheered their heart out for the Assam pugilist.

The Indian was a slow starter against the Egyptian but gradually picked up and took a 17-4 lead at the end of the second round after a close first round.

Nadia failed to land a single punch in the second round and received a straight blow on the face, which left her shaken. Kalpana built on the lead in the decider and clinched the bout 24-7.

Usha, meanwhile, caused an upset by beating the Canadian, who looked to have an upperhand initially. The Andhra girl was down 1-3 before she recovered to equalise and end the first round 5-5.

Faced with the stiff challenge, the Canadian struggled to keep pace and Usha launched a flurry of punches to upset Sandra 20-14.

UNI PM DH HT1927