Marykomoncourse for sixth gold
WORLD BOXING Fivetime champion enters semis along with Lovlina, Sonia
NEWDELHI: Mary Kom just cannot be missed at the IG Stadium here. She is on billboards outside the World Boxing Championship venue, she is inside the arena on numerous posters and she is the favourite topic of discussion among the spectators. She is even the brand ambassador of the event. So, on Tuesday, it was no surprise that the loudest cheer was reserved for the 35-year old icon gunning for her sixth World Championship gold. Mary did not disappoint, subduing China’s Wu Yu to enter the 48kg semi-finals.
Later, Lovlina Borgohain (69kg), Sonia Chahal (57kg) and Simranjit Kaur (64kg) also entered the last-four stage. India are thus assured of four medals.
It was end of the campaign for Pinki Rani (51kg), Manisha Maun (54kg), Bhagyabati Kachari (81kg) and Seema Poonia (+81kg), who lost their quarters matches.
“China keep sending new boxers every time to beat me,” said Mary after her bout. “All are good boxers. But I have been defeating them.” Mary Kom won 5:0 against the young Wu Yu, whom she was facing for the first time. The bout started aggressively with Wu delivering a flurry of punches and Mary returning the favour. It seemed the Indian had swayed from her usual strategy of staying back, thus minimising the chance of getting body blows.
However, as the first round progressed, Mary Kom’s nimble footwork came to the fore as did her lightning hooks. Wu tried to hold Mary for most part of the bout but it did not fluster the Indian much as she repeatedly broke free and counter punched.
The Chinese showed heart to go after Mary Kom, who failed to land quite a few left hooks in the second round. However, the Indian’s experience showed as she foxed Wu with her jabs and one-twos. In the third round, Mary Kom connected way better to take the game away. For a place in the final, Mary Kom will face DPR Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi, who she had defeated in the 2017 Asian Championships final.
If Mary Kom’s bout was all about tactical acumen, Lovlina was all about aggression. She was facing Aussie Kaye Scott, silver medallist at the 2016 World Championships in 81kg category. Adjusting to a lower weight category (69kg) came easily to the 2018 CWG bronze medallist. But Lovlina was ready. The 21-year-old from Assam matched her opponent punch for punch, attacking her with precise jabs.
“My strategy worked against Kaye. But I am not happy yet as I am targeting gold. In the next round I face a Chinese Taipei boxer (Chen Nien-chin). I faced her once before and lost. This time I will beat her,” said Lovlina.
However, it was not so easy for Sonia in 57kg as her Colombian opponent Yeni Castenada pushed her to the limit. Finally the Indian won by a split decision. In 64kg also, Simranjit won her quarterfinal bout against Ireland’s Amy Broadhurst via split decision.
However, it was not all smiles for India. Manisha, who had defeated the reigning 54kg world champion Dina Zhalaman of Kazakhstan in the first round, put up a valiant fight against Bulgaria’s Stoyka Petrova, who won silver in 2016. Manisha started slowly and took quite a few punches. But she steadied herself in the last two rounds. Manisha finally lost 4:1.
In 51kg, Pinki Rani lost to DPR Korea’s Pang Chol Mi 0:5. In the 81kg category, Bhagyabati, playing her first bout, lost to Colombia’s Jessica Sinisterra 2:3. In the last bout of the day, Seema Poonia lost to China’s Yang Xiaoli in the +81kg category.