Mary creates history
| Date :11-Oct-2019 |
“Surpasses herself as most successful boxer in Women’s World Championship”
“It is difficult to say (what the result would be in the semi-finals) but I think I have the capability to go the full distance and win a gold. Let’s see. — Mary Kom”
ULAN-UDE (Russia) :
SIX-TIME champion MC Mary Kom (51kg) on Thursday surpassed herself as the most successful boxer in the Women’s World Championship history by securing an unprecedented eighth medal before debutants Manju Rani (48kg) and Jamuna Boro (54kg) also joined her in the semi-finals here. The third-seeded Mary Kom defeated a spirited rival in Colombia’s Valencia Victoria, fetching a unanimous 5-0 verdict to make the last-four stage.
In the evening session, Haryana-boxer Rani and Assam’s Boro also entered the semi-finals to be assured of their maiden world championship medals. While Rani stunned top seed and last edition’s bronze-medallist Kim Hyang Mi of South Korea 4-1, Boro, an Assam Rifles employee, got the better of Germany’s Ursula Gottlob by a similar margin after draining showdowns. “I am very happy to have secured a medal but I would be looking to make it better by reaching the finals,” the 36-year-old Mary Kom said after the bout. “It was a good bout for me and I will now try to improve on this performance in the semi-finals,” she added. Awaiting Mary Kom in the semi-finals on Saturday, after a rest day on Friday, is second-seeded Turk Busenaz Cakiroglu, who is the reigning European Championships and European Games gold-medallist. Cakiroglu defeated China’s Cai Zongju in her quarter-final bout.
However, two-time bronze-medallist Kavita Chahal (+81kg) bowed out after a 0-5 loss to Belarus’ Katsiaryna Kavaleva. For Rani, her next opponent is going to be Thailand’s Chuthamat Raksat, who upstaged fifth seed Yuliyanova Asenova. Boro will take on top seed and former Asian Games bronze-medallist Huang Hsiao-Wen. In a tactful performance, Mary Kom waited for her chances and defended sharply to ensure that Victoria’s plan to impress the judges by throwing in more punches didn’t yield results.