Laishram Sarita Devi

In this Meitei name, the family name is Laishram and the given name is Sarita. "Devi" is a name suffix.

Laishram Sarita Devi (born 1 March 1982) is an Indian boxer from Manipur. She is a national champion and a former world champion in the lightweight class.^[1] In 2009, she was awarded Arjuna award by the government of India for her achievements.^[2]

Sarita Devi

Personal information
Full name	Laishram Sarita Devi
Nationality	Indian
Born	(1982-03-01) 1 March 1982 (age 42) Thoubal khunou, Thoubal, Manipur, India
Height	168 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Sport	Boxing
Weight class	Lightweight
Club	All India Police
Medal record Women's amateur boxing Representing  India World Championships 2006 New Delhi Light bantamweight 2005 Podolsk Bantamweight 2008 Ningbo Light bantamweight Asian Championships 2003 Hisar Bantamweight 2005 Kaohsiung City Bantamweight 2008 Guwahati Light bantamweight 2010 Astana Flyweight 2012 Ulaanbaatar Lightweight 2001 Bangkok Featherweight 2017 Ho Chi Minh City Light welterweight 2019 Bangkok Lightweight Asian Games 2014 Incheon Lightweight Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow Lightweight

Early life

Sarita Devi was born in Khunou Thoubal into a Meitei Hindu family, as the sixth of eight siblings. She used to spend her time helping her parents in collecting firewood and in the fields, which helped her build the stamina she has today.^[3] Sarita completed her high school in Waithou Mapal High School till the eighth standard and then went to Bal Baidya Mandir, Thoubal to complete her matriculation. She then went to an open-school to complete her twelfth standard to cope with her busy boxing schedule.^[3]

Career

Devi turned professional in boxing in 2000, inspired by the achievements of Muhammad Ali. The following year, she represented India at the Asian Boxing Championships in Bangkok, and won a silver medal in her weight class.^[4] Following this victory, she won medals in various tournaments, including a gold at the 2006 World Championships in New Delhi. In 2005, she was offered the post of Sub-Inspector (SI) by the police department of Manipur, for winning a bronze medal in the 3rd World Women Boxing Championship, Russia and was promoted to the rank of DSP in February, 2010.^[5] She also won the silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.^[6]

She failed to qualify for 2016 Rio Olympics, after losing to Victoria Torres, with a score of 0–3.^[7] In 2018, she won Silver Medal at Indian Open International Championships, New Delhi and bagged a Gold Medal at Sr. National Boxing Championships, Rohtak.^{[citation needed]} She also won in Women's World Boxing Championship with a split 4-0 verdict against Sandra Diana.^[8]

2014 Asian Games controversy

Devi entered the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, competing in the lightweight category. With a win margin of 3–0 both in the Round of 16 and Quarterfinals, she entered the semifinals to face South Korea's Park Ji-Na on 30 September. After the match, she was handed a 0–3 defeat verdict by the judges of the match, which turned out to be hugely controversial, considering that Devi had knocked Park out in the third round and also a convincing fourth round, before having rained heavy blows on Park throughout the first two rounds.^[9][10] Following this, the Indian team lodged a protest against the decision, which was rejected by the AIBA's technical committee.^[11] At the medal awarding ceremony, Devi refused to accept her bronze medal and handed it over to the silver medallist, Park.^[12] However, she accepted the medal later.^[13] This was followed by provisional suspension of her coaches by the AIBA. She was handed a one-year ban by the AIBA.^[14]

References

1. "Laishram Sarita Devi defeats Alexandra Kuleshova of Russia in Boxing World Championships". sportskeeda.com. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
2. "Mary Kom and Sarita Devi receive Awards". newstrackindia. 14 September 2009.
3. E-Pao!. "Laishram Sarita Devi - 'Arjuna Award' Awardee in the field of Women Boxing -". About Sarita Devi. E-Pao!. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
4. "Woman boxer Laishram Sarita Devi crowned with Arjuna Award". oneindia.in. 29 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
5. "profile of sarita".
6. "CWG Silver Medallist Boxer Sarita Devi To Quit After Olympics 2016". NDTV. 20 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
7. "2016 Rio Olympics". 21 May 2016.
8. "women world championship".
9. "Asian Games: Sarita Devi loses controversial bout, settles for bronze". India Today. 30 September 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
10. "Asian Games 2014: Sarita Devi Loses Controversial Boxing Semifinal, Husband Loses Cool". NDTV. 30 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
11. "Indian boxing team protest against Sarita's loss rejected". The Hindu. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
12. "Inconsolable Sarita refuses bronze, medal with organisers". The Hindu. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
13. "Boxer Sarita Devi Accepts Bronze Medal After Olympic Council of Asia Hearing". NDTV. 3 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
14. "Sarita let off with one-year ban". The Tribune. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2018.

External links

• Laishram Sarita Devi at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)