Mary Kom world’s top woman boxer; Manisha, Pinki eighth
NEWDELHI: Mary Kom rose to the top of the boxing world rankings on Thursday, two months after becoming the first female boxer to win six World Championships. The 36-year-old motherof-three was ranked No 1 by the International Boxing Association (AIBA) in the light fly 45-48 kg category, scoring 1700 points.
Mary Kom capped her 2018 campaign winning the World Championship title after defeating Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota 5-0 in Delhi. Okhota is ranked No 2 in the world, with 1100 points.
That victory took her past Ireland’s Katie Taylor, and level with the men’s record held by Cuban legend Felix Savon as the most successful pugilist ever at the World Championships.
She also won gold medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Silesian Open Boxing Tournament in Poland.
Among other Indians, Pinki Jangra is placed eighth in the 51kg category list. Asian silvermedallist Manisha Maun holds the same position in the 54kg category. Former world silver-medallist Sonia Lather was placed at the second spot in the 57kg division despite enduring a disappointing 2018, during which she finished medal-less at the Asian Games.
World bronze-medallist Simranjit Kaur (64kg), who was crowned the national champion a few days back, took the fourth position in her weight category. Following her was former world champion L Sarita Devi at the 16th spot.
India Open gold-medallist and world bronze-winner Lovlina Borgohain took the fifth position in the 69kg category. PRO-VOLLEYBALL CHENNAI: The Pro Volleyball League will begin on February 2 with Kochi Blue Spikers taking on U Mumba Volley in the first match. The first season of the league will see six teams fighting for the title. The final is slated to take place in Chennai on February 22. The first season will see a total of 18 matches where teams will play against each other in a round robin format. The 18 matches are divided in two legs to be held Kochi and Chennai. The first 12 matches will take place in Kochi.