The Hindu : Sport : Manipur recoils in style

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 29, 2007
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Sport - Sports : General

Manipur recoils in style

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Manipur overcame the twin reverses it suffered on Thursday as it garnered all the three titles which were decided on the second day of the 18th National senior fencing championship at the CRPF auditorium, Pallippuram, on Friday.

There was no stopping the Manipur side as it recoiled brilliantly and clinched the top spot in the men’s sabre and women’s foil and epee team events. There was hardly any opposition too as the champion side stamped its class on Friday after having lost the women’s sabre and men’s epee team events on the opening day.

In the men’s sabre final, Manipur defeated Jammu & Kashmir easily at 15-12. This after having overcome the challenge of Haryana 15-7 in the round of last four. Jammu & Kashmir, a surprise finalist too had it easy in the semifinals as it prevailed over Indian Army 15-11.

No challenge

In the women’s foil event, Manipur virtually faced little challenge from Madhya Pradesh in the final before winning the gold with a 15-9 scoreline.

In the semifinals, Manipur had easily defeated host Kerala 15-7, while Madhya Pradesh emerged victorious over a fighting Punjab (14-13).

The same pattern was visible in the women’s epee event too as Manipur downed Bengal 15-5 and raced to clinch its third gold medal of the day. Maharashtra and Punjab were the losing semifinalists in the section after being steamrolled by an identical margin of 15-10 by Manipur and Bengal respectively.

The results (team events):

Men: Sabre (final): Manipur bt Jammu & Kashmir 15-12. Semifinals: Manipur bt Haryana 15-7; Jammu & Kashmir bt Indian Army 15-11.

Women: Foil (final): Manipur bt Madhya Pradesh 15-9. Semifinals: Manipur bt Kerala 15-7; Madhya Pradesh bt Punjab 14-13.

Epee (final): Manipur bt Bengal 15-5. Semifinals: Manipur bt Maharashtra 15-10; Bengal bt Punjab 15-10. — Special Correspondent