India sign off with triple ton

Guwahati: Northeast India's diverse and colourful culture were in full display as the curtains were brought down on the 12th South Asian Games amid magnificent fireworks that lit the night sky over the capital city on Tuesday.

Union Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal declared the Games closed at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium here to mark the formal end to the 12-day biggest multi-sporting spectacle of the eight SAARC countries, jointly co-hosted by Guwahati and Shillong.

Sonowal handed the flag to the President of the South Asian Olympic Council N Ramachandran, who in turn handed it to 13th SAG Organising Committee Chairman and Nepal Olympic Committee chief Jeevan Ram Shreshtha in the presence of Nepal Sports Minister Satyanarayan Mandal.

India, hosting the Games for the third time after Calcutta (1987) and Madras (1995), overwhelmingly dominated the 12th edition by grabbing an unprecedented 308 medals (188 gold, 90 silver, 30 bronze) and stamped their superiority as an unrivalled region sporting power.

Sri Lanka were a distant second with 25 gold, 63 silver and 98 bronze while Pakistan ended at third with 12 gold, 37 silver and 57 bronze. India, in fact, bagged more than three-fourth of the total 239 gold on offer in 23 disciplines.

On the final day of competitions, action was restricted to this hill town where women boxers and judokas fought their summit bouts. First off the blocks were pugilists, who ensured that India scored a 'Perfect 10' in boxing. After the men had scooped all the seven gold medals on offer yesterday, the women made a clean sweep today.

London Olympics bronze-medallist M C Mary Kom (51kg), former world champion L Sarita Devi (60kg) and Asian Games bronze winner Pooja Rani (75kg) picked up the top honours in their respective categories.

On a comeback trail after recovering from a shoulder injury, Mary Kom packed a powerful punch against her seasoned Sri Lankan rival Anusha Kodituwakku Dilrukshi to be adjudged winner via Technical Knockout (TKO) in a bout lasting less than 90 seconds.

With Mary landing some powerful blows, Anusha lost her balance and injured her right knee. This forced her to take a medical break before attempting a comeback.

However, a booming jab from the five-time world champion sent her almost out of the ring before the referee intervened. The injury to Anusha will take about two-three months to heal.

However, Sarita, who was returning to competitive action after serving a one-year ban for her infamous Asian Games meltdown, had to stave off a stiff challenge from another Lankan opponent in M Vidushika Prabadhi.