Army, TN boxers triumph

Army, TN boxers triumph
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

JULY 15: Army boxers (men) ruled the roost in the men's section, grabbing four of the 12 gold medals, while Tamil Nadu girls swept the distaff side, winning all five golds at stake in the Hotel Aditya Federation Cup Boxing (men and women) Championship, which ended here tonight.

Army men claimed the team championship with 34 points, followed by Assam Rifles (23) and Artillery Centre (12), while just one point separated Tamil Nadu (11) from Delhi (10) for the women's team title. Madhya Pradesh claimed third spot with eight points.

CH Mangalam, who clinched the gold in the bantam weight category, beating Delhi's Mahavir singh 11-9, started Army's hold in the men's section. The favourite in the middle weight category, K Babu Rao outclassed Assam Rifle's SK Thappa with an unanimous 16-3 decision, while G Periyar in the light heavy section was a clear winner against Artillery Centre's Gurusaheb Singh at 26-11. AC Vijayan claimed the fourth gold for the Army, defeating Shakti Singh of Haryana in the second round with a RSC verdict.

Though Army won three golds, India camper V Hariharan was the cynosure of all eyes in his lightweight title bout against CA Kuttappa of Army. The stylish Hariharan, who has taken after his older brother Devarajan, a former Indian international, unleashed a barrage of punches on Kuttappa in the first and second rounds. Kuttappa was reduced to nothing in the third round and the bell came as a relief to him.