This has been arguably India’s best best-ever overseas performance in the Women’s World Boxing Championships as Mary Kom, Lovlina Borgohain, Jamuna Boro and Manju Rani are all looking to reach the final in Ulan-Ude, Russia.

Fighting in the 51-kg category, Mary Kom, the six-time world champion and the most successful boxer in the history of the Women’s World Championships, will target an unprecedented seventh gold and an eighth medal overall.

Lovlina (69 kgs) is also in the hunt for a medal, and she will be looking to do even better than winning the bronze medal she won last year in New Delhi.

Both Manju Rani (48 kgs) and Jamuna Boro (54 kgs) have fared well in their maiden appearances at the World Championships and the nation has high hopes about them.

Mary seeks 7th gold medal

But all the focus is around Mary Kom. Between her and a place in the final stands Turkey’s European champion and second-seeded Busenaz Cakiroglu.

The London Olympic bronze medallist created history this week when she became the only boxer across male and female categories to have amassed a staggering eight medals from the Worlds.

She has been an epitome of consistency throughout the year and after top-podium finishes at the India Open and the Indonesia President’s Cup, the Manipuri legend surely must be aiming for gold.

Other contenders 

Manju Rani, who has taken over the 48kg mantle from Mary Kom in an impressive fashion, has produced assured performances in the tournament and can cause an upset here.

Her impressive 4-1 win over top seed Kim Hyang of North Korea shows her potential and hunger to perform on the big stage. She is up against Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat, and there is no reason to believe why Rani cannot go all the way.

Jamuna Boro, who won the India Open and the Indonesia President’s Cup gold medals, has shown her composure and conviction throughout the tournament and she must be buzzing with confidence after her 4-1 win over Ursula Gottlob of Germany.

Boro is up against top seed and former Asian Games bronze medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen of Chinese Taipei, but the 22-year-old has shown she can beat anyone on her day.

Lovlina Borgohain has a really good chance of progressing through to the finals following the exit of top seed Chen Nien-Chin. She is up against China’s Yang Liu, who herself knocked out the title favourite Nien-Chen.

India is currently at the third position out of the 51 countries that participated in this tournament with Russia leading with 6 medals, followed by China at 5.

Women’s World Boxing Championships: When to watch

Mary Kom will take the ring in the afternoon session on Saturday and her bout is expected to be around 10:45am IST. Manju Rani will be up around 3:30pm IST, followed by Jamuna Boro at 4PM IST and Lovlina Borgohain at 5pm IST.

You can follow all the LIVE action on the Youtube channel of AIBA Boxing as well as on Boxing Federation of India’s Facebook page (@BoxingFederationIndia).