Sania crashes out in tennis semis

Akgul Amanmuradova dumps Sania Mirza out of Asian Games as Cancan claims first women’s boxing gold.

GUANGZHOU: Akgul Amanmuradova dumped Sania Mirza out of the Asian Games tennis singles event as she beat the Indian tennis star 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 6-4 to face China’s Peng Shuai, who beat Kimiko Date Krumm, in the final.

Mirza needed six set points to wrap up the opener after more than an hour on court but the Indian’s game unravelled in the second set and the world 69 levelled the tie. As the clock ticked towards the three-hour mark, Amanmuradova’s greater stamina paid dividends as she took victory on the first of three match points.

Chinese world champion Ren Cancan punched her way to be the first woman to taste boxing victory at an Asian Games as the sport made its debut yesterday. Cancan pummelled South Korea’s Jang Eu-Na in the flyweight preliminary round 8-1 and said it was an honour to duck and dive her way into the Asiad history books.

“After years of effort, women can perform at the Asian Games boxing which is the happiest thing for us women,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2010.