Sarita Devi continues winning return in China training trip

New Delhi: Asian Games bronze-medallist L Sarita Devi (60kg) continued to shine in her return to competitive boxing, notching up a second successive victory in the training-cum-competition assignment at the Chinese city of Qian'an today.

On the second day of competitive action after sparring sessions yesterday, the Indian boxers were up against rivals from South Korea in the five-nation event.

Sarita thrashed You Ji 3-0 in her bout to continue a confident return to the ring after serving out a one-year ban for her emotional outburst at the Asian Games last year.

Also winning today among the women was Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Pinki Jangra (51kg), who got the better of Eunjin Nam in her bout.

In the men's competition, Asian Championships silver-medallist Vikas Krishan (75kg) defeated Dongyun Lee 3-0, while Kuldeep Singh (81kg) got the better of Heeguen Yang 2-1.

However, World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa (56kg) went down 1-2 to Sangmeong Ham.

Commonwealth Games silver-medallists L Devendro Singh (49kg) and Mandeep Jangra (69kg) along Gaurav Bidhuri (49kg) could not complete their bouts after sustaining minor injuries.

Thomas Maitei (52kg), Manish Kaushik (60kg), Amritpreet Singh (91kg) and Narender (+91kg) ended up on the losing side in their respective bouts.

"It is turning out to be a fantastic exposure trips. The bouts so far have been draining and have been a real test for our boxers. The fact that this very venue will host the Asian Olympic Qualifiers next year is also good for us since familiarity with the arena is always good in big tournaments," said Jaidev Bisht, the Indian coach travelling with the team.

The Indians will square off against boxers from China tomorrow.