Ulaanbaatar Cup: Mary Kom, Devendro Singh progress to quarter-finals of boxing tournament

New Delhi: Five-time world champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) got a bye into the quarterfinals as India made a solid start at the Ulaanbaatar Cup boxing tournament with four wins on the opening day in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Wednesday. Mary Kom, returning to competitive action after a one- year hiatus, will take on the winner of the bout between Russia’s Anna Aedma and Korea’s Chol Mi Bang on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2299070” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of MC Mary Kom. Reuters[/caption] Strandja Memorial silver-medallist Mohamed Hussamuddin (56kg) and King’s Cup bronze-medallist Rohit Tokas (64kg) were among the winners in the men’s draw. Hussamuddin defeated Kyrgyzstan’s Almanbet Alibekov to enter the quarterfinals. He will face China’s Ma Xin Ming tomorrow. Rohit defeated Russia’s Dorjo Dakhaev to also enter the quarterfinals. He will now face Chinzorig Baatarsukh of Mongolia. However, Jaideep (75kg) bowed out after losing his opening bout to China’s Zhan Chao Feng. Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships silver- medallist L Devendro Singh (52kg), King’s Cup gold-medallist K Shyam Kumar (49kg) and Asian youth silver-medallist Ankush Dahiya (64kg) advanced to the quarters after getting first- round byes. Devendro will face Russia’s Yusupov Dimitrii, while Shyam Kumar will be up against face Enkhmandakh Kharkhuu of Mongolia in his last-eight stage contest. Ankush will also be squaring off against a Mongolian in Dulgunn. Duryodhan Singh (69kg) has also made the quarterfinals straightaway because of the small size of the draw. He will take on Mongolia’s Byamba-Erdene Otgonbaatar. In the evening sesions, Priyanka Chaudhary (60kg) defeated Mongolia’s Bolortuul Tumurkhuyag, while Kalawanti (75kg) edged past China’s Huo Run Hui, in their opening bouts. Both the boxers won on split decisions of 3-2.