New Delhi, May 5 (IANS) World champion boxer M.C. Mary Kom will spearhead the Indian challenge in the women's Asian Cup to be held in Haikou, China from Thursday.

Mary Kom will be contesting in the 48kg category while Kavita Chahal, a bronze medal winner at the 2010 World Championships, is in the heavyweight category. The other contestants are Laxmi Padiya (light heavyweight), Kavita Goyat (middleweight), Neetu (lightweight) and Pavitra (featherweight).

The tournament is the first international meet for the Indian boxers after the Asian Games.

"We have had a long break after the Asian Games, but we have worked hard at the camps. I am looking at this tournament as a learning experience, especially after the introduction of the new scoring system," said Mary Kom, a five-time World Champion and gold medallist at the 2010 Asian Women's Boxing Championships.

National coach Anoop Kumar said that tournament will help the boxers prepare well for other international events.

"The competition is going to be tough, but I am hopeful of a good results as we have some experienced campaigners. The event will also allow us to assess our strengths and weakness," he said.

The tournament will feature 40 female boxers from 12 countries including India, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan and China.

Bouts will be contested in 10 weight categories ranging from 48kg to +81kg. In accordance with the latest AIBA women's ranking, the results of 2010 Astana Asian Women's Championships and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, the top four boxers in each category have been selected to participate in this event.